Class 

Book 

Copyright^ 

esSEmam deposit 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 

BY 

Elizabem. C. Twiggs 

"And it shall come to pass, mat before mey call, I will ansWer: 
and \tfhile fhey are yet speaking, I will hear." — Isaiah 65: 24. 




The Christopher Publishing House 
Boston, Massachusetts 



Copyright ig2i 
By The Christopher Publishing House 



©CLA630794 



This little volume is dedicated to the memory 
of my beloved friend and teacher 



ELLA OVIATT FISH 

In recognition and appreciation of a beautiful 
life of service, whose influence will ever live 
in the minds and hearts of all her pupils, 
— Elizabeth C* Twiggs* 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



Unseen Resources 



CHAPTER I 

ART FOR ART'S SAKE 

Early in the present century a ceramic 
wave swept over the country, engulfing 
thousands — artists, would-be artists, and 
dealers in art. Many loved art for art's 
sake, many took it up as a fashionable fad or 
as a pot-boiler to eke out a scanty income. 

Eva Channing was a most ardent devotee 
of the fad. Having dabbled in oils and water 
colors, she naturally longed to know what 
success she would have with china painting, 
and after taking a course of lessons with a 
local teacher, she practised hours each day. 

Her husband, John Channing, a lawyer in 
the city, was modestly successful. His 
home, his pretty young wife and sturdy lit- 
tle son five years of age, filled his life with 
contentment. 

He was both surprised and interested to 
see his wife so deeply engrossed in " daub- 
ing/' as he called it. He thought it was one 
of the fads that would have its run and die 
away, as other fads had; but this one seemed 
different. It hung on, stuck, week after 



8 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



week and month after month, and seemed 
to grow stronger with the passing of time. 

Books, sewing, even amusements, were 
all swept aside to make more time for paint- 
ing. Of course such close application soon 
told, and before long Eva was able to show 
some very creditable specimens of her work. 
Several friends asked her to teach them, so 
a class was formed, many pieces of her work 
were sold as soon as completed, and before 
long a little book was needed to take care 
of the orders which came in almost daily. 

Before many months the simple, plain 
little home of the Channings began to show 
a marked change. 

A most interesting event was the installa- 
tion of a kiln in which to fire the china. 
Both skill and deftness were required to 
stack the kiln, separating each piece with 
little stilts, so that no two pieces should 
touch; discrimination as to which colors re- 
quired the hottest and others the coolest 
places; and then lighting the fire beneath 
and watching the different stages of heat 
through which even the most fragile pieces 
of china must pass. 

What speculation, what hope, and some- 
times what anxiety were experienced dur- 
ing the time which must elapse before the 
kiln had cooled sufficiently to open the door! 

A great desire for more instruction filled 
Eva's breast. She wanted to know and 
study with the best teachers, so that she 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



9 



too could talk with assurance and satisfac- 
tion of Professor Brushoff 's and Professor 
Painoff 's methods. After a most successful 
season she found she was able to carry out 
her wishes, so leaving her husband and little 
son in capable hands, she arranged for a 
month's absence to be spent in two well 
known Michigan studios. There she met 
teachers and students from almost every 
state in the Union. 

They discussed art in all its phases. 
Technique, paints, lusters, firing and gold. 
They were all so interested in art that they 
became chummy in a very short time and 
spent most of their spare time at each 
other's boarding places, of which there were 
many adjacent to the studio. 

After a month, with daily lessons, includ- 
ing the copying in water colors of many 
beautiful designs, Eva was most eager to get 
back home to husband, little son, and the 
many friends and students who were inter- 
ested in her progress. 



CHAPTER II 



THE EXHIBIT 

Arriving home, her beautiful trophies 
unpacked and admired, she concluded to 
give an exhibit. To that end the little house 
was completely transformed, doors were 
changed into larger openings, and several 
artistic small windows were added. The 
entire lower floor was redecorated. Rugs 
and decorations were beautifully blended, 
the lights were differently placed and soft- 
ened with harmonious shades to match the 
velvety hangings. One could scarcely be- 
lieve it was the same place. 

Beautiful pieces of china were every- 
where. Plaques of roses, vases and tank- 
ards decorated with berries or fruits, great 
jardinieres of beautiful feathery ferns, filled 
in bare corners. A most beautiful china 
cabinet, filled with dainty, fragile china, was 
placed in the dining room; a side table had 
a brown and gold chocolate set arranged 
upon it; on another table a punch-bowl and 
cups done in wild roses and black berries, 
which seemed most too beautiful to use. 
There were beautiful embroidered linens 
everywhere, everything had been arranged 
to a nicety. 

A group of Eva's friends were to assist 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



11 



her. Punch and wafers were served, and 
the weather was all that could be desired. 

Dressed in their best finery, the hostesses 
greeted an almost endless procession of 
guests from two o'clock till six, and then 
from eight o'clock till ten. Neighbors, 
friends, and friends' friends, all were great- 
ly interested. Eva was beaming. The 
pretty things were selling readily and many 
orders were taken for more, to be filled later. 
Everyone was so pleasant and complimen- 
tary, and how glad she was that she had gone 
away to study. It gave one such an advan- 
tage! 

When it was all over and the last good- 
night said, Eva found that she was scarcely 
able to drag herself upstairs. She had not 
even felt tired before. 

What a great success it had been! Money 
had just been showered into her lap, even 
some of the order work had been paid for 
in advance. 

Well, there was no time now to be idle, 
the holidays were only eight weeks away, 
and the daylight growing less and less each 
day, much too short to accomplish all she 
must do, so that no one should be disap- 
pointed. 

When everyone had apparently forgotten 
Eva's trip to the studios, little Sonny en- 
tered the studio one morning with a handful 
of grasses and a few late flowers. Laying 
them in Eva's lap he said, " Mamma, I 



12 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



bringed you some pitty f 'owers. Don't go 
big bye-bye any more. " 

Eva took the little fellow in her arms and 
covered bis face with kisses. This was the 
first idea she had that Sonny boy had missed 
her. He had accepted all the changes in the 
little home so philosophically. He and his 
little dog Larry had grown to be inseparable 
companions. Even the gift of a red auto- 
mobile, propelled by all the power of two 
sturdy legs, could not wean his affections 
from Larry. 

Sonny was a most friendly little chap, and 
usually called on new neighbors when they 
were moving in, often asking them if they 
had any little boys for him to play with. 

One day while his father was busy sprink- 
ling the lawn, Sonny came gravely along, 
leading a little boy and girl. They were all 
very much disheveled, but this mattered not 
to them. Upon reaching his father he said, 
" Daddy, this is Sis and this is Budd}^; they 
have come here to live, and we're going to 
play togedder." 

Prom that time on, these little people 
seemed to share all things in common — 
cookies, popcorn, candy, the red automobile, 
and Larry. 

Sometimes on a rainy day Sonny would 
wander into the studio and say, "Me wants 
to paint.' 9 A great hugging bee would fol- 
low, then a little table with water colors, a 
study, some water, a brush, a paint rag and 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



13 



a plate to work on, would be arranged for 
him. 

For a time lie would work away most 
industriously, then lie would hold his work 
off at arm's length, shut one eye as he had 
seen others do, bite on the handle of his 
brush meditatively, then rub it all out and 
begin over again. 



CHAPTEE III 



LAYING UP TREASURE 

Eight busy years passed away. Success 
came to Eva, though it cost her many hours 
of leisure and the companionship of John 
and Sonny, but she felt that she had helped 
in many, many ways to lay up something 
for the future. Their home was filled with 
good books, pictures, silver, linen; bhe was 
the proud possessor of several fine jewels, 
besides the feeling of satisfaction which 
comes from the possession of a substantial 
bank account. 

Her days had been busy ones. Life was 
a routine of teaching, retouching and firing 
pupils' work, sketching and planning. She 
had little time for friends or family. It had 
always been her custom to attend church 
and Sunday school, but frequently she found 
her mind busy with the art of a country 
rather than its missions. 

After an unusually busy winter, Eva 
found that her eyes were not doing their 
work, her head ached, her throat felt sore 
and her back pained all the time. John 
urged her to call in Dr. Gray, their physi- 
cian, who was startled to see the change in 
her. 

He jokingly asked her if she had taken 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



15 



her own way of " painting the town." He 
looked into her eyes, her throat, and in- 
quired if her teeth needed attention, then he 
told her to put aside all her work, and to 
get out of doors, to relax, to walk, to rest 
and sleep. "Rest, air and sunshine are all 
you need, ' ' he told her. ' ' Without them you 
will never get well; your whole system is in 
crying need of them. ' ' 

Dr. Gray called on John in town and 
informed him how serious Eva's condition 
was. 

"You had better close your home for the 
summer months," he said, "and go away for 
a change. Eva is a very sick woman." 

As J ohn sat thinking of Dr. Gray's advice, 
and wondering just what it would be best to 
do, Harry Avery, an old friend and col- 
lege mate, dropped in to see him. He looked 
well and prosperous, and apparently was in 
the best of humor. J ohn complimented him 
and jokingly asked him if he had fallen heir 
to a young fortune. 

" In a way, I have, ' ' responded Harry. i ' I 
have learned the trick of making my money 
work for me. I'll tell you, John, it is very 
simple. You can't lose and you stand the 
chance of doubling your money in a very 
short time. But you must have some capi- 
tal, a couple of thousand ready money to do 
it." 

J ohn smiled as he turned over in his mind 
all his available assets. The little home, an 



16 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



abandoned farm, which he had inherited, a 
couple of hundred dollars in the bank for an 
emergency fund, was all that he could call 
his own. 

He was about to dismiss the subject from 
his mind when he remembered what Dr. 
Gray had told him of Eva's health, that she 
ought to have at least four months away at 
the seashore or mountains, without care or 
anxiety. He told Harry of his dilemma and 
was advised by him to dispose of his home, 
convert it into cash, and use part of it for 
investment purposes. John concluded to 
talk the matter over with Eva and leave it 
to her decision. 

That night after Sonny had gone to bed, 
J ohn broached the subject of Harry Avery's 
call, his success, his new car and the trip he 
was planning to take with his family. At 
first Eva listened in a most disinterested 
manner, then realized that she was feeling 
very, very ill and tired, almost too tired to 
care about anything. 

Art just now was the most distasteful 
thing imaginable. The very thought of 
paints, oils or turpentine was repugnant to 
her; her greatest desire was to get away 
from it all. 

John unfolded Mr. Avery's plan to Eva 
and suggested disposing of their house. Eva 
assented almost eagerly and offered John 
her savings, also, to invest in stocks that 
promised such good dividends without work 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



17 



or worry. So the little house and lot were 
advertised and very soon sold, and all the 
books, pictures and beautiful china were 
packed in boxes and barrels to be stored 
with the best furniture until fall or until 
such time as their investments had been 
turned over many times and they desired to 
buy or build again. 

During the weary days of packing china 
and bric-a-brac, Eva, ill and anxious, found 
herself thinking how little it all amounted 
to without health. The very things she had 
spent most time and labor on, were now only 
a care. 



CHAPTEE IV 



ON THE TRAIL OF HEALTH 

After much advertising and diligent 
searching, a comfortably furnished cottage 
was found and engaged for the season, at 
a resort called "East Shore. " Faithful 
Hilda, the maid, accompanied them and in 
every way tried to relieve her ailing mis- 
tress of care. 

In a few days the cottage was arranged to 
suit them and seemed most homelike. Son- 
ny was wild with delight. It was his first 
view of the ocean. It was all wonderful to 
him — the shells, the bathing, the boating 
and fishing. Every day was brim full of ad- 
ventures. 

One morning, shortly after locating at 
East Shore, a heavy rain fell and the cottage 
was cold and damp. Eva decided to have a 
driftwood fire in the grate, which she found 
already filled with paper and wood, ready to 
light. As she lifted off the blower, two torn 
sheets of paper fluttered down on the hearth, 
having been drawn out of the grate by the 
suction of the blower. 

She struck a match, waited for it to burn 
clearly, then lit the paper in the grate and 
replaced the blower. 

As she did this her eyes fell upon the torn 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



19 



sheets of paper on the hearth. She picked 
them up to throw them into the fire, but in- 
stead she rose and went to the window. The 
pages were crumpled and sooty, ink had 
been spilled over them, but nevertheless 
there was something new to her in them. 

This much stood out clear and plain: "The 
choice lies with you, whether you will have 
health or sickness, wealth or poverty, joy 
or sorrow. Within yourself lies the cause of 
whatever enters into your life!" 

As she read and reread these lines, she 
returned to the fireplace wondering if the 
rest of the book was in the flames. The fire 
was burning brightly as she turned over the 
contents of the grate with the poker, but 
she could discover no signs of a book. Again 
she read the words, "The choice lies with 
you." 

What kind of a book were these pages 
torn from? Was it science, religion or phil- 
osophy? Turning over the ink-stained 
page, she was able to decipher the words, 
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, uttered 
or unexpressed." All the rest of the page 
was undecipherable, too torn or darkened 
with ink to read. She was about to throw 
them into the fire, but refrained and tucked 
them into her work basket. 

When she took up her sewing her mind 
dwelt on the words. She wished she knew 
the name of the book or the kind of a book 
it was. How did it happen to be in the cot- 



20 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



tage? Maybe she could get in touch with 
the last occupants. Was there a mystical 
way of always being well, prosperous and 
happy, that other people knew, and of which 
she was ignorant ? In a vague way she won- 
dered if there was any connection between 
one's belief or religion and his health. She 
fell to wondering how or when she chose to 
be sick. How could any one ever choose to 
be poor, sick or unhappy? What nonsense! 
She tried to dismiss the subject from her 
mind. 

As the sun shone brightly and the day 
grew warmer, she followed Sonny out on the 
lawn, where a bright hammock swung be- 
tween two towering oak trees, and as she 
lay resting, Hilda brought out a tray con- 
taining cookies for Sonny and a warm drink 
for her. After drinking the cordial, and 
wrapping her scarf about her, she lay back 
among the pillows, delightfully comfortable, 
but wishing she knew what the author of 
that book meant by ' 6 choosing. J 9 

The shrill voices of the children on the 
beach at play blended into the cadence of 
the surf; even Sonny's voice seemed to grow 
fainter and fainter and farther away, and 
there under the blue sky, with the soft sum- 
mer wind fanning her face, Eva started on 
the trail of health. 



CHAPTEB V 



FALLEN LEAVES 

When John came down for the week-end, 
he found Eva very much improved, the lines 
of care having left her face and there was 
just the faintest suggestion of color in her 
cheeks. She expatiated on the view, the sky 
and water. She told him how sleepy the air 
made her, how much better the food was in 
the country. John smiled and agreed with 
her. Then she told him about the leaves of 
the book she had found, she showed them to 
him and wondered if he could get the book 
at the library. He agreed to try. 

The next trip out to East Shore found 
John laden with books. Together they 
looked them over, but none of them seemed 
the one she was searching for. However, 
she had made a clear choice to get well, to 
be a real wife and mother, whether she ever 
painted again or not. 

As the days passed by, all of Sonny's 
friends became aquainted with Eva; she had 
been, an honored guest at bacon and potato 
roasts, she had made happier combinations 
for them than wieners and marshmallows. 
They had all sat around the "camp fire" 
with her and listened to the stories she had 
learned to know so well, having told them 



22 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



again and again to Sonny, from Tom Saw- 
yer and Huckleberry Finn, Uncle Remus 
and Kipling's Jungle Stories. They had all 
accepted her as a "good scout. " Her porch 
had been the receptacle for bats, balls, mitts 
and guards, kites, bubble blowers and water 
wings, mosses, ferns and lucky stones, be- 
sides innumerable jars of minnows, tadpoles 
and mud-turtles. Sometimes, on rainy days, 
or days too cool to play out doors, the 
"bunch" would meet in the Channing cot- 
tage, where they gathered about the drift- 
wood fire, while Eva read to them from the 
few books Sonny had brought with him. 

Sometimes they asked for "Robinson 
Crusoe" or "Treasure Island," but the 
"Coon, the possum and the old black crow" 
seemed most real to them. 

"Black Beauty" and "Beautiful Joe" 
were prime favorites and the pages of 
"Toby Tyler" and "Mr. Stubb's Brother" 
displayed the marks of many small hands. 

Sonny listened also and observed the rest 
with a provokingly wise smile on his face, 
as if to say "Oh, you fellows, see what 
you've been missing!" Occasionally Eva 
insisted upon a "fagot party," when each 
boy threw a stick of driftwood into the fire 
and told a story he had read or heard, while 
it burned. At first they were shy and reluc- 
tant to talk, but as Eva encouraged them to 
tell something, if it was only of the sto- 
ries she had read them, they forgot to be 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



23 



bashful and before the season was over Eva 
knew she had instilled a deep desire in the 
heart of every boy for wholesome literature. 
She felt almost well again, possibly not as 
strong as formerly, but able to take long 
walks and attend to many household duties. 

September had come, with cool, crisp 
nights and mornings, and hazy warm days ; 
the woods were glorious in colors of green, 
brown, crimson and gold. How she would 
love to paint them! 

The time had come to locate for the win- 
ter, for Sonny must go back to school. Such 
a bonny brown boy, as tall as his mother! 
He had acquired a number of accomplish- 
ments. He could dive, swim, row or fish as 
well as any of the fellows. When John 
made his last trip to East Shore for the sea- 
son, to bring Eva and Sonny back to town, 
and noted the improved appearance of both, 
he congratulated himself on his choice of 
a health resort. 

Mr. Avery had directed all of John's in- 
vestments in stocks and bonds. Only a few 
hundred dollars had been withheld for im- 
mediate use, so a house could not be pur- 
chased just yet, and a furnished apartment 
was decided upon for the winter. Fortunate- 
ly they learned of a friend who was going 
to Florida for the winter; terms were soon 
arranged to their mutual satisfaction, and 
in a short time they found themselves most 
cosily settled, 



24 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



Eva found many things to attend to. 
Sonny had outgrown every garment, and 
must be completely refitted. There was 
jelly to make and canning to do. 

It was nearly October before Eva had 
time to think of her own needs. One day 
while shopping she was pleased to meet one 
of her girl friends, Mrs. Reed. 

"How strange! I was thinking of you 
this morning, and 'phoned Mr. Channing to 
know how I might find you, and he gave me 
your present address, " Mrs. Reed said. 
"How well you look ! You must have had a 
pleasant summer!" 

They lunched together, and Eva told her 
friend what a wonderful outing she had had. 
She even grew confidential and told her 
about finding the torn leaves, and that she 
had almost grown to regard them as the tal- 
isman that had brought her health. 

"I am so interested, I wish I knew where 
I could get the whole book," concluded Eva. 

"I believe I know just how to direct you," 
said Mrs. Reed. "I have an acquaintance 
who is a student of that very kind of litera- 
ture; if you wish to, we will call upon her 
next Tuesday, that is her day 6 at home. ' Be 
ready by two o 'clock. I '11 call for you. * 9 

Agreeable to her promise, Mrs. Reed 
called for Eva the following Tuesday. On 
the way over, Mrs. Reed explained they 
were going to see a lady named Mrs. Fiske, 
a former well known society woman who 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



25 



had been very, very ill, and whose life had 
been despaired of by several prominent phy- 
sicians, but who had been healed by a power 
she had been taught to find within herself. 
She was past middle age, a widow, the mis- 
tress of a beautiful home, a woman of wealth 
and of rare culture. 

Her elegant home was now opened to 
anyone who cared to come and study the 
beautiful lessons of " Truth" which had 
done so much for her. 

Upon their arrival they entered without 
waiting to ring, and Eva found herself in 
a large hall, from which could be seen three 
large beautiful rooms, furnished most lux- 
uriously, yet with exquisite taste. 

A slender lady advanced to meet them. 
She was dressed in a delicate gown of helio- 
trope, with dainty lace at her throat and 
wrists. Her silvery hair was dressed high. 
She extended her hands to them, and in a 
sweet, gracious manner invited them to 
make themselves comfortable. Then she 
left them to greet the others who continued 
to come. As they waited, Eva noted the 
statuary and pictures. Two pictures were 
especially beautiful, the Child Jesus, and 
Christ in the Temple. Just below these was 
a group of three pictures in one frame: 
Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ 
on the Cross, and The Risen Christ. Be- 
neath them was printed the words: 
" Through the Garden of Gethsemane and 



26 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



by the Way of the Cross, we may choose the 
Steps of Ascension." 

"I wonder why the word choose or choice 
is used so often," thought Eva. "I am glad 
to be where I shall have an opportunity to 
find out." 



CHAPTEE VI 



THE CLASS 

Shortly after two o'clock, a young lady 
whom Mrs. Fiske called Lucille, seated her- 
self at the piano, and played a selection, and 
then in a sweet natural way began to sing. 
Eva never forgot that song or the singer. It 
seemed to convey a new sense of restfulness 
and freedom to her. 

"For we know that every Morrow can be 
glad 

And forgetting all the sorrows we have had, 
We will banish all our fears, 
Wipe away our foolish tears, 

And through all the coming years, just be 
glad!" 

It was not a hymn, yet how uplifting ! As 
Eva looked about her, every face seemed 
radiant with happiness. As many as thirty 
people had assembled, and judging from 
their dress they were from various classes 
of society, but they seemed unconscious of 
everything save the presence of the sweet 
woman who rose to address them, 

"Let us open our lesson with the 6 Reali- 
zations.' " 

A leaflet was enclosed in each song book, 
and Eva read with the rest. 



2S 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



" 'My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the 
meditations of my heart shall be peace. 

" 'The law of my life is made perfect, I 
am one with The One. 

" 'I have received my inheritance, I dwell 
in the house of my God. 

" 'My heart will never turn back, neither 
will my steps decline from His way. 

" 'I am one with the Great Spiritual Con- 
sciousness of Life, I abide in this union. 

" ' Health, wealth, love and usefulness are 
mine now. 

" 'I am a conscious part of the Mighty 
"Whole. I am backed by unnumbered hosts 
of power. 

" 'I have found the way, the truth and the 
life. My steps are led through love, joy, and 
worship. 

" ' Peace! Peace! Peace!' " 

The Realization was followed by a chant 
or melody, which was soft and sweet. The 
words were : 

"I clothe myself safely around with Infinite 

love and wisdom, 
With love, with love, with Infinite love and 

wisdom." 

Mrs. Fiske then took up her Bible and 
read from it. 

" 'But thou, when thou prayest, enter into 
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, 
and thy Father which seest in secret shall 
reward thee openly.' (Matt. 6:6,7,8.) 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



29 



66 'But when ye pray, use not vain repeti- 
tions, as the heathen do, for they think they 
shall be heard for their much speaking. 

" 'Be ye therefore not like them, for your 
Father knoweth what things ye have need of 
before ye ask him. 

" 6 Therefore I say unto you, that what 
things soever ye desire when ye pray, be- 
lieve that ye receive them and ye shall have 
them/ (Mark 11:24.) 

" 'Ye ask, and receive not because ye ask 
amiss, that ye may consume it upon your 
lusts. ' (James 5-3.) 

"What is wrong with our prayers when 
they are not answered?" she asked as she 
put down her Bible and began to question 
each member of the class. Lucille arose and 
took a place near Mrs. Fiske, and for the 
first time Eva noticed a board suspended 
from the wall, on which were tacked sheets 
of paper on which were numerous references 
and the words, "Prayer is the soul's sincere 
desire, uttered or unexpressed." 

In a flash Eva remembered these were the 
very words she had read on one of the torn 
pages. 

The first person answered, "Our prayers 
are not answered because we do not ask for 
the right things." 

The next one said, "We should pray more 
earnestly." 

Another said, "Prayer is to develop us 
spiritually." 



30 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



As each answer was given, Lucille wrote 
it out in brief on the board so all could see 
and compare. 

"What do you think, Lucille, the reason 
is?" 

"I think it is lack of faith," Lucille an- 
swered. 

Mrs. Fiske opened her Bible and read 
Heb. 11:1,2,3. 

" ' Now faith is the substance of things 
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

" 'By it the elders (or teachers) obtained 
a good report (from those who had walked 
by faith). 

" 'Through faith we understand that the 
worlds were framed by the word of God, so 
that things which are seen were not made of 
things which do appear.' " 

She continued to read until the thirteenth 
verse, when she stopped, and then she slowly 
reread it. 

" 'These all died in the faith, not having 
received the promises but having seen them 
afar off, they were persuaded of them, and 
embraced them, and confessed that they 
were strangers and pilgrims on earth.' " 

"Let us read that verse this way, she 
said, 'They all had faith in God, but be- 
lieved his promises were for the future, they 
believed and were convinced they were true, 
and they loved to think of them, but they 
had not the courage to live them.' (Heb. 11: 
13,14.) 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



31 



"So of course those who are not willing 
to have heaven here and now, must wait un- 
til their minds are ready to accept all His 
good promises/ 9 yet he tells us "The King- 
dom of Heaven is at hand." 

She continued to read the entire chapter 
and concluded: 

"Does it not seem impossible for us to be 
so blind! Faith is the only thing we need, 
to have every prayer answered. First, have 
faith in God. If you haven't got it, ask Him 
to give it to you. Believe that God is, then 
believe that God is Spirit and that His Spir- 
it dwells in each of us, awaiting recognition, 
willing to help us in every way. ' ' 

Turning to Matt. 6:33 she read, " 'Seek ye 
first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness and all these things shall be added unto 
you.' Where shall we find the kingdom? 
The kingdom of heaven is within you. God 
is never far away. Pray to God within your 
own breast. Be still, and know He is there. 
Do not think you must pray at a certain time 
or place, or under certain special conditions. 
Pray anywhere, everywhere. Think Him 
into every part of your life. That is living, 
moving and having your being in Him. 

"When you thus abandon yourself to 
Him, you will have no more responsibility 
than when you are a passenger on a ship or 
a train. God is your Pilot, your Engineer, 
and He will bring you safely through. Just 
trust Him!" 



32 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



Eva listened as one spellbound. It was all 
so new, so different from the way she had 
been taught. 

The discussion which followed was a 
lively one, each one taking part eagerly, 
willingly. There were no solemn long paus- 
es, no drowsy, half-awake people there. Two 
hours had flown away. A beautiful hymn 
was sung: 

" Peace like a river, it floweth so free 

Out from the heart of Infinity, 

Oh, troubled spirit, it floweth for thee; 

Peace like a river, Peace like a river !" 

As Eva listened, she seemed to feel at 
peace with the whole world. What a restful 
atmosphere ! How she longed to know more 
about it ! She was roused from her reverie 
by the gentle voice of Mrs. Fiske saying, 
"We will now have our Silence, we know 
our Source and there we wait to be filled 
with power. " 

Eva bowed her head with the others, 
expecting to hear a few words of prayer, but 
no voice broke the stillness. At the end of 
a few minutes Mrs. Fiske said, "We thank 
Thee, our Father, Thou hast heard our pray- 
er/' 

Then they all rose. Everybody shook 
hands with everybody else, and they lin- 
gered in little groups to visit. Every one 
seemed so happy. Mrs. Reed waited, with 
Eva, for a few moments' chat with Mrs. 
Fiske. 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



33 



As she came forward she said, "Did you 
enjoy the meeting V 9 "Oh, so much!" re- 
sponded Eva, "only I don't quite under- 
stand it." 

"You will, my child, if you want to," Mrs, 
Fiske replied. "Come again, let us teach 
you, you will always be welcome here, we 
love to help each other." 

Prom that day on, Eva never missed a 
class meeting if she could possibly help it, 
whether Mrs. Reed accompanied her or not. 
She read everything she could get to read on 
Truth. She became happier, consequently 
healthier. She had many little chats with 
Mrs. Fiske and grew to love her dearly and 
felt free to ask her innumerable questions. 

One day at the close of a lesson, Eva said, 
"Do you believe in a personal God or a uni- 
versal One?" 

A quick smile illumined the face of Mrs. 
Fiske. Instead of answering, she said in 
a slightly raised voice, "Our next lesson will 
be on 6 Light/ Every one come with a verse 
containing the word 6 Light.'" 

Putting her arm across Eva's shoulders 
she said, "Be sure to come, dear, it will help 
you answer your own question." 



CHAPTER VII 



THE TRUE LIGHT 

Tuesday came, and Eva was again at the 
class. Everything looked as usual, except 
for a tall white candle in a crystal holder, 
and a good sized pasteboard box on Mrs. 
Fiske 's table. 

The lesson sheet contained a number of 
quotations. 

"God is Light, Love, Life, Illumination, 
Intelligence, Power. 97 

"That was the true Light, which lighteth. 
every man that cometh into the world." 
(John 1:9.) 

"God is spirit and they that worship 
Him must worship Him in spirit and in 
truth." (John 4:24.) 

After opening the lesson, Mrs. Fiske in- 
quired if any one was without a verse. 
Those who had none she supplied. Lucille 
then lowered the shades, the tall candle on 
the lesson table was lighted and the electric 
lights turned off. The white box was then 
passed and each student took a candle. 

After they had all been supplied, Mrs. 
Fiske said to the class, "I would like you 
to come forward one by one, and light your 
candles from the ' Great Light' which we 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



35 



will call Christ, form a circle about the table, 
then we will read our verses/' 

As one candle after another was lit, the 
darkened room glowed with a mellow radi- 
ance, and the verses seemed to contain a 
new meaning. Mrs. Fiske quoted from 
James Russell Lowell : " As one lamp light- 
eth another, nor groweth less, nobleness en- 
kindleth nobleness." 

"Do you see, friends," she said, "how God 
can be both personal and universal? Make 
Him your own, let Him occupy you. ' Let 
your Light so shine before men that they 
shall see your good works and glorify your 
Father which is in Heaven. ' (Matt. 5 :16.) 

" 'Let there be Light.' That means let 
us co-operate with God. This is the 6 Light' 
we must all learn to use if we want paths of 
peace. Do you remember the parable of the 
five wise and five foolish virgins'? (Matt. 
25 :1.) Five went to the marriage feast with 
the Light of the Spirit, five went with the 
Light of their own understanding, to these 
the door was shut, and so many doors will 
be shut to us, until we learn to use the true 
Light. Doors of health, wealth, happiness 
and glorious opportunity all open to us 
when the true Light comes into our lives." 

It was four o 'clock when the last member 
of the class had bade goodbye to Mrs. Fiske, 
still Eva tarried, and when she saw they 
were quite alone, she said to Mrs. Fiske, 



36 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



"Are you too tired to answer a few ques- 
tions V 9 

"No, never/' answered Mrs. Fiske, "ask 
as many as you like and if I can help you, I 
shall be more than pleased." 

"Well," said Eva, "I just want to be sure 
that I got the right meaning of the lesson. 
God, Light and the Spirit mean the same 
thing?" 

"Yes," responded Mrs. Piske. 

"And the Light, which is the same as the 
Great Light, or Spirit, is in all of us; that 
we gain more Light by using what we have. 
Disuse causes our Light to grow dim?" 

"You have exactly the right meaning. 
What else?" asked Mrs. Piske as Eva hesi- 
tated. 

"Only I don't seem to know how to find 
the Light in myself." 

6 6 Then you shall, ' ' quickly responded Mrs. 
Piske. "I shall never forgive myself if I fail 
to make it so simple that you must under- 
stand it. Before next lesson day comes, 
read Matt. 6, which tells us how to pray." 



CHAPTEE VIII 



THE SILENCE 

When Eva again went to the home of Mrs. 
Fiske, she had almost committed Matt. 6 to 
memory, and she was interested to know 
how Mrs. Fiske would teach it. As she 
looked at the lesson sheet she saw there 
were many more references than usual, and 
knew that Mrs. Fiske intended to go into it 
thoroughly. 

"But when thou pray est, enter into thy 
closet and when thou hast shut the door, 
pray to thy Father which is in secret, and 
thy Father which seest in secret shall re- 
ward thee openly. " (Matt. 6:6.) 

"Behold I stand at the door and knock; 
if any man hear my voice and open the door, 
I will come in and sup with him and he with 
me." (Bev. 3:20.) 

" There is a spirit in man; and the inspira- 
tion of the Almighty giveth them under- 
standing." (Job 32:8.) 

The lesson was opened in the usual way, 
then Mrs. Fiske said to the class, " Without 
the Silence or communion with God we can 
never hope to make any progress, and in or- 
der that every one may understand how to 
get results we will be very simple and di- 
rect. 



38 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



"The ' Silence ' means a period of time we 
set apart each day for meditation or pray- 
er. We can arrange a time when we are 
least likely to be interrupted. Be alone. 
Shut the door of your mind to every worldly 
care, then listen to God. Kelax, be still, and 
soon you will have a wonderful inflow of 
thoughts. Just be passive and let Him use 
your brain. At first you may find it hard to 
control your thoughts. Never mind. Sim- 
ply have faith in His promises, that is the 
way to open the door that He may come into 
your life. 

"We have shut Him up in the tomb of 
self too long. It will not be many days be- 
fore you will experience a new feeling, 
something restful, peaceful, satisfying, a 
sweetness you have never known before, a 
sense of completeness — I cannot exactly de- 
scribe it — I only know I would never let a 
day pass again without it. Eight within 
yourself is the 6 Secret place of the Most 
High' where you can meet with God; where 
you can tell Him every care and perplexity. 
Our Father knows the things which we have 
need of, and is more willing to give them to 
us, than we are to receive them. 

"This is the time God fills us with new 
strength, wisdom and inspiration, this is the 
time when the unseen life from the vine 
flows into the branch, and it will not be long 
before new and better ways suggest them- 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



39 



selves to you, and you will be helped over 
many difficult places. 

" ' Take my yoke upon you and learn of 
me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is 
light, and you will find rest unto your souls. ' 
Some of us have forgotten what it means to 
have our souls rested. 

"Do not expect all these things at once. 
Try to live to the highest and best knowl- 
edge you possess, then as you do this you 
will acquire a new poise, a clearer view of all 
your affairs, because the Light is lighting 
your way and is keeping your feet from 
stumbling and He has promised no evil 
shall befall us, nor any plague come nigh our 
dwelling; He will give angels charge of us." 
(Ps. 91.) 

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- 
ture, old things have passed away." That 
means old doubts and fears about sin, sick- 
ness, poverty and death. 

"And behold all things are become new." 
(II Cor. 5:17.) Everything changes with 
the renewing of our minds. 

"Jesus said, ' Narrow is the way which 
leadeth into life, and few there be that find 
it.' (Matt. 7:14.) This verse refers dis- 
tinctly to the Silence. Remember the pur- 
pose of the Silence is to quiet the outer mind 
sufficiently that we may hear the wisdom of 
the ' Inner Man.' 

"Do not try to concentrate on disks, crys- 
tals, tones, gems, or colors, or seek to enter 



40 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



the psychic realm, it is destructive to both 
mind and body. 

"Insane asylums are being filled with 
those who have tried to develop themselves 
psychically or who have consulted ouija 
boards. 

"Work out your own salvation with 
Christ, the Indwelling Spirit, who will 
lead you into all Truth. (John 16:13.) When 
you are ready for messages from the invis- 
ible side they will be given to you. It will 
never be necessary for you to go after them. 

"When you make contact with the Spirit 
of Christ you are protected from all unde- 
sirable entities. Psychical experiences al- 
ways come through making contact with the 
mental forces without first establishing the 
wisdom and power of the Spirit within. 
We must proclaim our freedom from all 
lesser voices than the Divine. If ' God made 
the earth, the seas and all that in them in,' 
let us rest assured he is able to control 
them." 

"You cannot pry open a bud without in- 
juring it, so do not try to know what is not 
best for you. Begin your silence by reading 
a chapter in your Bible. Meditate upon it. 
If you need faith, ask for it." 

"You can say like one poor fellow did, 
'Oh God, — if there is a God — give me Light, 
— if there is Light.' Be open minded, will- 
ing. 

"Our prayers do not change God, He is 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



41 



unchangeable. The same yesterday, today, 
forever. But our prayers change us; they 
help us understand Him. A magnifying 
glass does not change the print of our book 
or newspaper; it only enables us to see it 
more clearly. There is no stability in life 
until we put from us the thought that God 
can change." 

The discussion which followed the lesson 
was as interesting as the lesson itself. Many 
of the students cited instances of prayers 
which had been speedily answered. The 
calm, steadfast assurance of these recita- 
tions left no doubt in Eva's mind that they 
had found something satisfying and worth 
while. Eva was continually thinking of 
things she wanted to talk about with Mrs. 
Piske and when an opportunity presented 
itself she said, " Will you please tell me what 
you think of the parable of the vineyard, 
Matt. 20; it has never seemed just right to 
me." 

" Let's read it," said Mrs. Piske, as she 
reached for her Bible. ' ' Well, ' ' she said, af- 
ter refreshing her memory, "how do you 
understand it?" 

66 Why , it does not seem fair or just to me 
that a man who has labored all day in the 
vineyard should receive no more pay than 
the one who has labored one hour," said 
Eva. 

"My dear," said Mrs. Fiske, "God is 
debtor unto no man! The pay we receive 



42 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



for serving the Master is more abundant 
life, He offers it to all, whether they serve 
an hour or a day, and He tells us very plain- 
ly, whatsoever is right, that shall ye re- 
ceive/' 

The loss is not God's loss, it is man's. 
Just as soon as we find Christ and try to fol- 
low Him we wish we had started sooner, be- 
cause of the signs that follow, health, har- 
mony, substance. 

"Have I made it clearer to you?" 

"Oh, yes," said Eva, "that makes it all 
right." 



CHAPTER IX 



THE PLAN AND PURPOSE 

Eva was a new creature. A wonderful 
new world had opened to her. Here was 
something worth while, religion of a kind 
that was satisfying and practical for every- 
day use. To be able to have prayers an- 
swered. To get our good here and now, 
' ' the desires of our hearts. 9 9 A power with- 
in ourselves to be called upon at any or all 
times. 

Her Bible was read with an entirely new 
interest and became as fascinating as a love 
story. She began to hear of lectures on sub- 
jects which heretofore would have been 
without interest or value to her, and every- 
where she met students from the class. 

As time passed she found many things had 
become new. She was all she had ever been, 
plus better health, strength and greater in- 
telligence. Life seemed happier and more 
harmonious than ever before. 

One day while Eva and Mrs. Fiske were 
visiting together, Mrs. Fiske said, "Grod has 
a plan and a purpose for each life and we 
ought not to flounder about dissatisfied and 
disappointed. I believe the ' Divine Archi- 
tect 9 intended that we should all be harmoni- 
ously situated; that we should enjoy life 



44 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



and that as we all find our life work, it will 
form a beautiful mosaic. (Eph. 4:11,12,13, 
14.) We must all be steadfast in our search 
for the sealed message which we carry in 
our own being. It is left for each one of us 
to hear the hidden message/' 

"But how can we tell which is the right 
message V 9 asked Eva. 

"You will know it, my child, because the 
right message speaks of equity, justice and 
harmony to every one. By following the 
' Soundless Voice' you can neither suffer 
harm nor loss. You will be led along simple, 
true, orderly and prosperous paths. 

"We have been given talents to honor 
man and glorify God. Sometimes we have 
an impulse to do something in a new and dif- 
ferent way, or we believe it could be done in 
a certain way. We ought not to put these 
thoughts aside, especially if they make a 
strong impression upon us. We ought to 
think about them and ask the Spirit to help 
us develop them. 

"If we ignore these thoughts or put them 
aside, some one else will think them for 
' thoughts are things and vibrate from one 
to another. ' Presently we will see the very 
thing which we thought could be done 
worked out by some one else, and they will 
benefit from it either in satisfaction or 
money, maybe both." 

"Everything works from the inside to the 
outside. People who always wear the same 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



45 



clothes, never have a new piece of furniture, 
are not growing, because every new idea 
brings an outward manifestation. Each 
body carries within itself the results of for- 
mer thinking or experiences." 

"Then you believe in evolution," said 
Eva. 

"I believe in pre-exist ence," responded 
Mrs. Fiske, "each day of my life I am more 
thoroughly convinced of it. It seems to me 
the only just way. (Ezk. 33:20.) How could 
one life teach us all our lessons? So I be- 
lieve each soul must learn all the lessons of 
life. Each moment we are thinking that 
which is the cause of the next moment's 
manifestation. I believe that the separation 
of spirit, soul and body caused by death, is 
restored by rebirth of the same spirit and 
soul in another body here on earth. 

"I believe the repeated incarnations of 
man to be a merciful provision of our loving 
Father for the final restoration of the whole 
race to a deathless estate here on earth. 

" 'Occupy till I come/ means that we are 
to abide at our present place of unfoldment 
until we have mastered all that we there 
meet. 

"We are to reorganize our forces for the 
next march, pray steadfastly and have faith 
that with Him we shall do greater things. 

" 6 As we sow we must reap.' And it be- 
hooves us to be very kind and charitable to 



46 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



every one, lest we harm some one who at 
one time has been most dear to us." 

"Oh, why can we not remember?" asked 
Eva. 

"It would not be best, child; it would be 
the agony of a thousand years. We would 
carry the memories of hatreds, loves and 
losses, which would only retard our prog- 
ress. It is far better for us to start out all 
anew with every former event wiped out; 
in the guise of a little child whom every one 
is willing to love. A splendid new chance! 
Life is a circle and not a span. We come 
from our Father's house, and there we must 
return. Do not fear for your body, only be- 
ware of those who try to disturb your peace 
of mind or your crown, which is your confi- 
dence of perfect assurance that God your 
Father, will take care of you. Keep guard 
of your thoughts, let them always be con- 
structive, good thoughts, for you are build- 
ing the house not made with hands, but with 
thoughts and words, as well as deeds." (II 
Cor. 5:1.) 

"The Golden Rule will mean more to you 
if you say, ' As I want my neighbors to 
think of me, so will I think of them.' 

"Do not judge others, we are all better 
than we seem to be, and we will have quite 
enough to do to keep watch of ourselves, 
but if we do the best we can each day the 
future will take care of itself. We are all 
yoked or linked together, every part of the 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



47 



plan must be finished, and that will not be 
till the least part is complete. We are all 
ordained to preach or to teach others the 
way. (Is. 61:1,2,3. Also Jer. 1:5,6,7.) 

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew 
thee, and before thou earnest forth out of 
the womb I sanctified thee; and I ordained 
thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said 
I, Oh Lord God, Behold I cannot speak, for 
I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, 
say not "I am a child " for thou shalt go to 
all I send thee, and whatsoever I command 
thee, thou shalt speak." 

Eva became thoughtful and at last said, 
"Don't you think He said that just to the 
prophet J eremiah ? ' 9 

"No, my dear, I don't. I believe the 
Scripture is first written for me and then 
for my neighbor. That which He gave to 
his twelve disciples, he gave to us, by co- 
operation with him. 

" 'Take my yoke upon you and learn of 
me.' 

"Just let us agree to accept this wonder- 
ful power and let it work through us." 

"But I know so little as yet," said Eva. 
"I must learn more before I teach others." 

"My daughter," said Mrs. Fiske, quite 
sternly, "you have been taught where to 
find the wellspring, where you can fill your 
cup to the very brim. Be that cup great or 
small, would you let another go thirsty? 
Some one is waiting for you to show them 



48 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



the ' Way. ' We each, have our flock to bring 
to the ' Living Water.' Never urge any one 
to accept it, the right opportunity will be 
given you. Watch for it. Be careful to 
have no enemies, never hate any one. Rec- 
ognize no injustice because nothing comes 
to us except that which belongs to us. Let 
us be glad that the law is so exact that 
measures back to us what we have sown. 
We must all be about our Father's business, 
to that end were we born. We can no long- 
er stand still. Each individual must get an 
understanding of God's great regenerative 
laws for man, or he will pass out with the old 
regime. 

"Here is a copy of a little poem you may 
keep. It is just another way of expressing 
pre-existence. " 

Eva took the slip of paper and read "The 
Law," by Ella Wheeler Wilcox: 

"The sun may be clouded, yet ever the sun 
Will sweep on its course till the cycle is run. 
And when into chaos the systems are hurled, 
Again shall the Builder reshape a new world. 

"Your path may be clouded, uncertain your goal: 
Move on, for the orbit is fixed for your soul. 
And though it may lead into darkness of night, 
The torch of the Builder shall give it new light. 

"You were, and you will be; know this while you are; 
Your spirit has traveled both long and afar. 
It came from the Source, to the Source it returns; 
The spark that was lighted, eternally burns. 

"It slept in the jewel, it leaped in the wave; 
It roamed in the forest, it rose from the grave; 
It took on strange garbs for long eons of years, 
And now in the soul of yourself it appears. 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



49 



"From body to body your spirit speeds on; 
It seeks a new form when the old one is gone ; 
And the form that it finds is the fabric you wrought 
On the loom of the mind with the fiber of thought. 

"As dew is drawn upward, in rain to descend, 
Your thoughts drift away and in destiny blend. 
You cannot escape them; or petty or great, 
Or evil or noble, they fashion your fate. 

"Somewhere or some planet, sometime and somehow, 
Your life will reflect all the thoughts of your now, 
The law is unerring; no blood can atone; 
The structure you rear you must live in alone. 

"From cycle to cycle, through time and through space, 
Your lives with your longings will ever keep pace, 
And all that you ask for, and all you desire, 
Must come at your bidding as flames out of fire. 

"You are your own devil, you are your own God, 
You fashioned the path that your footsteps have trod 
And no one can save you from error or sin 
Until you shall hark to the spirit within. 

"Once list to that voice and all tumult is done — 
Your life is the life of the Infinite One; 
In the hurrying race you are conscious of pause, 
With love for the purpose and love for the cause." 

As Eva concluded Mrs. Fiske said, " Poets 
and philosophers of all ages, have voiced the 
same thought in song and story, but here 
is my authority/' Taking her Bible from 
the table, she quickly found the place and 
read: "Him that overcometh will I make 
a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall 
go no more out: and I will write upon him 
the name of my God, which is new Jerusa- 
lem, which cometh down out of heaven from 
my God; and I will write upon him my new 
name." (Eev. 3:12.) Also, "Lord, thou 
hast been our dwelling place in all genera- 



50 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



tions. Before the mountains were brought 
forth"— (Psalms 90:1,2.) 

"Well, where have we been?" asked Mrs. 
Fiske closing her Bible. "We don't know, 
we can't remember any more than we re- 
member our first word or step, or our baby 
toys." 

"How strange it all is," said Eva. "I 
shall read this poem often and think about 
it." 

"Yes, do," responded Mrs. Fiske, "and 
rejoice that your ears are open to the voice 
of the Spirit, because of the individual reve- 
lation it brings, always leading and lifting 
us to greater heights. 

"Every life is a portrayal of the life of 
Jesus Christ. 

"We suffer alone in the Garden of Geth- 
semane, those nearest us, asleep, or uncon- 
scious of our agony as we work out the 
problems of our lives. 

"We are crucified daily by those nearest 
and dearest to us, for they alone have the 
power to wound us deeply by neglect, criti- 
cism or misunderstanding. 

" 'Yea, mine own familiar friend, in 
whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, 
hath lifted up his heel against me.' (Psm. 
41:9.) 

" 4 For it was not an enemy that re- 
proached me; then I could have borne it: 
neither was it he that hated me that did 
magnify himself against me; then I would 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



51 



have hid myself from him: But it was thou, 
a man mine equal, my guide, and mine ac- 
quaintance. We took sweet counsel togeth- 
er, and walked unto the house of God in 
company.' (Psm. 55:12,13,14.) 

" Those are the crosses we must bear to 
force us to find our divinity. Out of the 
tomb of anguish and darkness we find the 
way to ascend to nobler things, with no mal- 
ice or unforgiveness in our hearts to those 
for whom we have sacrificed our all, then we 
abandon ourselves to Him, choosing to walk 
with Him ' All the way. ' " 

"Now I understand the pictures in the 
north room," said Eva. "I did not know 
why the word ' choose' was used, but I see 
it is an open choice we are constantly ac- 
cepting or rejecting that which shapes our 
lives." 

"Yes, my dear," said Mrs. Fiske, "it is 
all a matter of choice." 

"Why do you so often speak of Truth as 
the 'Absolute'?" asked Eva. 

Without a moment's hesitation Mrs. 
Fiske answered : 

"Because it is free from all limitation! It 
is perfect, supreme, and changeless, it al- 
ways has been, is now, and ever shall be. 
It transcends every other power and is irre- 
spective of every other law. ' There is just 
one power, the good, omnipotent.' " 

"Well," said Eva with an approving 



52 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



smile, "you certainly understand the foun- 
dation upon which your faith is fixed." 

" Nothing else would satisfy me," replied 
Mrs. Fiske. "It is too vital a matter to mis- 
understand." 



CHAPTEE X 



BROTHERHOOD 

The holidays came, and with, them a more 
blessed realization than ever before of what 
" Peace on earth, good will to men" really 
meant. At the class they had been taught 
to say, " Peace on earth, God's will in men." 
Brotherhood in all its meaning had been the 
subject of the Christmas lesson. To strive 
to see the Divine in each other instead of 
looking for faults. To never forget that we 
are all children of one Father, who is no re- 
specter of creeds or persons, whether they 
are black, white, red or yellow, J ew or Gen- 
tile, bond or free, i. e., bound to old beliefs 
or free in new ones. "That Christ came that 
every man might have a fair chance at the 
best things of life." 

To remember the great commandment, 
or the second which is like unto it. (Matt. 
22:37,39.) 

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy mind." 

■ ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ' ' 
"The age of the 'beast' of selfishness is 
dying," Mrs. Fiske had said as she read 
from Dan. 7:14. "Man is beginning to un- 
derstand that true greatness consists in lov- 



54 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



ing and forgiving much and serving to his 
best ability. America must take the light 
to many dark places, because America is 
the Christ nation. We must teach the stran- 
gers who come to our shores Christianiza- 
tion by example, not by precept, then Amer- 
icanization will take care of itself and the 
world will be safe for democracy. 

" Nations are crying for peace, but they 
will never have it without spiritual under- 
standing." 

God is love ! 

"The Allies must win," she declared, 
"right must prevail, never doubt it. The 
whole world will look to us to teach the 
Christ message. Then we will have a new 
spiritual era, a new heaven and earth will 
be established, and crooked places made 
straight." 

The little apartment was gaily decorated 
with festoons of evergreen and holly, red 
wreaths and bells hung at the windows, and 
the air was fragrant with the odors of good 
things. Sonny was brimming with secrets. 

Eva had planned an immense Jack Hor- 
ner pie, not to be opened until after the 
feast, which was to contain a small amusing 
gift for each one. 

What a splendid jolly mysterious time, 
Christmas is! Many less fortunate shared 
the Christmas bounty. There were the jan- 
itor, the laundress, the maid and the news- 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



55 



boy, and those who we can never forget, the 
Salvation Army and Red Cross workers. 

As Eva thought of these she was most viv- 
idly reminded of her own blessings. All of 
her dear ones safe at home, in an atmos- 
phere of love and comfort, while all Europe 
had been in the turmoil of war for more 
than two years. Could any one love such en- 
emies? Mrs. Fiske had said we of ourselves 
could not, but to ask God for his love and 
then by praying and asking light for them 
all, our hatred would disappear, for love 
never failed. Everything else might fail, 
but love never would. (I Cor. 13.) 

When the holidays were over and the rou- 
tine of life begun again, John had the mis- 
fortune to fall one morning on his way to 
the office. He thought nothing of it at first, 
but after a few days he began to suffer from 
a sharp pain in his right side. He spoke of 
it to Eva who laughingly said, "Take a real 
hot bath and a brisk rub and you will be all 
right by morning." But after trying both 
and spending a sleepless night, he asked Eva 
to 'phone for a nearby doctor. When the 
doctor came and heard the symptoms he 
said, "It sounds very much like appendici- 
tis, you had better go to bed and let me make 
a thorough examination." 

After the examination was over he looked 
very grave, as he instructed Eva how to 
make and use hot applications. As he was 



56 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



leaving the house he said to Eva in a very 
low tone. 

"If Mr. Channing's temperature rises or 
the pain becomes more acute in his side, 
'phone me and I will make arrangements 
for a room at the hospital. It may be neces- 
sary to have an operation at once." 

Eva was surprised, the very thought of an 
operation almost terrified her. Her great, 
strong husband to be operated on? No, she 
would not think of such a thing. "No, I 
shall fear no evil, but what shall I tell John? 
He will ask and it is never right to tell an 
untruth. ' ' She had often heard him express 
himself about operations. "They were risky 
things, no one ever knew how they would 
turn out." 

"Men are so much less courageous in sick- 
ness," she mused. "I must not let him 
think of danger." She soon dispatched Son- 
ny for the ingredients which were to be 
used in the hot applications, and for some 
oysters. 

A towel was dipped and wrung out of hot 
water and laid on John's aching side. As she 
did this she said, "No roast beef for you to- 
day, sir, just hot oyster broth. I am going 
to prepare it for you myself." 

Without waiting for a reply she left the 
room but soon returned with a steaming 
bowl of broth. She found John resting com- 
fortably, and after being refreshed by his 
lunch, which he seemed to relish, she said. 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



57 



"John, you have no more appendicitis 
than I have, you have had a bad fall and 
jarred yourself; all you need is rest and I 
will have my physician treat you." 

"Your physician, who is he?" said John. 
"I didn't know you needed one." 

Then Eva told him all about the class she 
had been attending and the lessons on heal- 
ing. That God was never sick, hurt or 
afraid, that our real selves were perfect, 
that we were made in His image and like- 
ness, which is Spirit. J ohn listened to the 
new version of healing which Eva expound- 
ed, then she read Matt. 8, where Christ prac- 
tised absent treatment for the centurion's 
servant. 

"Now will you consent to have me 'phone 
Mrs. Fiske and ask her to treat you?" said 
Eva. 

"Why, I don't suppose it can harm me," 
John said grudgingly, so Eva 'phoned Mrs. 
Fiske who replied, 

"Very well, dear, have him read Psalm 91 
and be willing to be healed, and we will do 
our part." 

Eva brought the Bible, found the place 
for John, and after telling him what Mrs. 
Fiske had said, she left the room. 

John took the Bible, and slowly read the 
Psalm and wondered what there was in it to 
effect a cure. He remembered having heard 
it numerous times. 

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of 



58 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



the Most High shall abide under the shadow 
of the Almighty." 

Yes, he had read it all before, but it had 
never seemed to mean so much. He read it 
again; he tried to commit it to memory. 
Presently he dropped off to sleep and forgot 
all about pain and sickness. 

He was surprised to see Eva coming into 
the room with the tea wagon with more hot 
broth for him and a little lunch for herself. 

"It is noon," said Eva, "do you feel hun- 
gry*" 

"Why I believe I am, I must have been 
asleep." 

"Nearly two hours," responded Eva, 
"You look rested." 

As they lunched J ohn inquired how often 
the class met, and what sort of a person was 
Mrs. Fiske? Eva answered all his ques- 
tions to the best of her ability. She told him 
the marvelous way Mrs. Fiske had been 
healed, when every one had despaired of her 
life, that now out of gratitude to the Master 
she had opened her beautiful home and was 
giving time and service freely, to any one in 
need. 

John got up and dressed himself, slipped 
into his house coat, and went out into the 
living room. After punching up a couple of 
pillows he settled himself on the davenport. 
Eva brought her mending basket and some 
books from which John read aloud. The 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



59 



next day John said lie felt fit to go back to 
the office, but as the streets were a glare of 
ice, Eva prevailed on him to remain at home 
another day. 



CHAPTER XI 



HEALING 

After a little round of duties, Eva again 
took lier work basket and books into the 
living room where John was reading the 
morning paper. They chatted awhile on 
the news of the day, and then as the clock 
chimed ten, Eva arose, placed the Bible and 
several other little books near John and was 
about to leave the room when John asked, 
"What shall I read this morning V 9 

"I have left three references for you. I 
would read them all," she answered. John 
opened the Bible and found the slips of pa- 
per Eva had inserted. 

"It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the 
flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I 
speak unto you, they are spirit and they are 
life." (John 6:63.) 

"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who 
healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy 
life from destruction; who crowneth thee 
with loving kindness and tender mercies." 
(Psalms 103:3,4.) 

"He called unto him his twelve disciples, 
he gave them power against unclean spirits; 
to cast them out and heal all manner of sick- 
ness, and all manner of disease." (Matt. 
10:1) 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



61 



When Eva returned to the room J ohn ex- 
claimed, " Those preacher chaps are not do- 
ing all their work. They ought to heal as 
well as to preach, according to Matt. 10:1." 

"Yes," assented Eva, "Mrs. Fiske says 
the church will never be the great power it 
should be until they all learn to do as Christ 
commanded. Heal the sick by casting out 
evil thoughts. 

"She thinks we are facing a great crisis 
in church affairs, because people are not sat- 
isfied with what they hear. They say, 'It is 
not practical, that it is out of touch with 
reality. ' 

"Mrs. Fiske believes that churches should 
be open every day, as well as Sunday, and 
supplied with capable teachers to instruct 
people how to think and speak constructive- 
ly, the cause and effect of things, so they 
will understand why selfishness and ill 
health are synonyms. She thinks we need a 
revival of religion to teach people what to 
think, to stimulate the human mind forward 
and upward, and give us a new sense of God 
in our every day lives. 

"She believes every problem of our lives 
can be solved spiritually, and the church of 
the future will not be financed by bazaars, 
suppers, entertainments or pool tables. 

"She says there are many progressive 
men in the pulpit who believe these things 
also, who lack courage to advocate them be- 
cause the people are not ready. 



62 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



" 'Take my yoke and learn of me/ means 
that we must co-operate with the Spirit and 
the Spirit will teach us, then as we believe 
and trust in the power we will find we are 
healed. God is all. All that is real of us is 
the Spirit. Affirm, ' The Almighty is the 
source of my strength'; deny every thought 
of sickness and forgive everybody, no mat- 
ter what mean thing you think they have 
done, when we really forgive, we forget. 
When we do that, the Spirit has the power 
to heal us. Mrs. Fiske says if we look 
through the Bible with a view of finding af- 
firmations and denials we will find scores of 
them. 

" 'Be ye transformed by the renewing of 
your mind.' (Rom. 12:2.) A new mind 
makes a new body, and openness to new 
ideas allows the body to grow and change 
until at last it can most truly glorify God 
with the fruits of right thinking. She also 
tells us every thought is written upon our 
bodies as upon a ledger, and we must take 
care that no thoughts blot or spoil it. We 
sow in thought and reap in body. 

" 'Know ye not that your bodies are the 
temple of the living God % 9 Perpetual youth 
is also promised to those who follow the 
Christ way. 

" 'His flesh shall be fresher than a child's; 
he shall return to the days of his youth.' 
(Job 33-25.) 

"One of the most important things we 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



63 



are told to remember and say often is, 'I am 
well, happy and harmonious/ " said Eva, 
consulting a little note book she used at the 
class lessons, ' because our real selves are 
always perfect. 

" *I am' is the name of God's power in us, 
and whenever we say ' I am,' it creates the 
thing we say we are. So we must watch 
our words and let them only express the 
things we want to have come into our lives. 
We must affirm the power of the spiritual 
over the material part of us ; we must deny 
the flesh daily, cross out all other thoughts 
than that Spirit is supreme and follow on. 

"She referred us to the chapter where 
these two powers or laws are explained: 
1 For the good that I would, I do not, but the 
evil which I would not, that I do. ' (Rom. 7 : 
19.) 6 And it is only by constantly affirming 
God, our health, our strength, our life, that 
we can overcome our weakness, because the 
power of the Spirit is greater than the law 
or power of the flesh. ' 

"Whenever we see any one who is not 
expressing health, even though they are 
strangers to us, she said we could help them 
by silently saying, 'Your life is hid with 
Christ, you cannot lose it.' 

"She said we could wear a camphor 
bag if we thought we needed it, but better 
to use it as a reminder to often say, 'I shall 
fear no evil for thou art with me. * 



64 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



" These are references she gave for the 
power of words. 

" ' Pleasant words are as honeycomb, 
sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.' 
(Prov. 16:24.) 

" 'The tongue of the wise is health.' 
(Prov. 12:18.) 

" ' Death and life are in the power of the 
tongue.' (Prov. 18:21.) 

" 'He that will love life and see good days, 
let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his 
lips that they speak no guile. ' (I Peter 3 :10.) 

Also Matt. 12:36; Prov. 18:7; Prov. 29:20. 

"My," said Eva, "there are dozens of 
them." 

The better part of the day was spent in 
reading and discussing subjects upon which 
they had never talked before, and a new 
bond seemed to unite them more closely. 
The next day John went back to the office, 
and never talked or thought about appendi- 
citis again. As Eva bade him goodbye, she 
said, " ' Divine healing' is so much more 
pleasant and satisfying than the old way, 
John. 6 Keep your eye single, and your 
whole body will be full of Light.' (Matt.6: 
22.) 

"Don't see anything but good health, in- 
stead of saying ' Left, left,' as you put your 
foot down, say ' Health, Health, God is 
health.' " 

John laughed. "I'll try it," said he, "it 
certainly has done wonders for you." 



CHAPTEE XII 



INVESTMENTS 

While affairs were going on so happily 
and harmoniously with Eva, France was full 
of strife and bloodshed. Nearly three years 
of war had passed, with no hope as yet of 
cessation, America was an onlooker as it 
were to a dreadful drama. It was awful, 
horrible and cruel, but it was far away. 
Why must it continue % All the newspapers 
and magazines were full of it. It was too 
dreadful to read. 

John had grown very silent of late, and 
seemed nervous, anxious and ill at ease. 
He seemed too preoccupied to talk to either 
Eva or Sonny, and spent a great deal of time 
figuring. He held long unintelligible conver- 
sations over the 'phone with Mr. Avery, 
from which he seemed to derive little satis- 
faction, and looked more tired and worn 
than ever. 

One day in February — Eva never would 
be able to forget it, — John said, "Eva, I 
must tell you, I am no longer able to keep it 
from you. Our affairs are in bad shape. At 
Avery's suggestion I invested all the pro- 
ceeds of our house in stocks; the war has 
played havoc with everything. In order to 
keep things going, and hoping the tide would 



66 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



turn, I have used all our emergency fund 
and am still short several hundred dollars. 
The only way out I can see is to draw on 
my life insurance policy, so you had better 
meet me downtown tomorrow to sign the pa- 
pers, as I have made application for a loan." 

Eva felt the blood recede from her face. 
She had never heard John speak in this way 
before. Her happy, comfortable husband, 
who always saw the bright side, and who 
always said, " Worry is folly." Was this 
tired, pallid man her husband? 

He seemed to avoid meeting her eyes and 
clasped and unclasped his hands as if he 
were under a great mental strain. She did 
not know how long she paused before say- 
ing, "Very well, John, if you think that is 
the best way." 

"It is the only way" John answered. 

"Have you talked with Mr. Avery about 
it?" she asked, scarcely thinking what she 
said. 

"Heavens!" exclaimed John, "We have 
talked of nothing else; the only difference is 
he can afford to lose and we cannot." 

John turned to the accounts on the desk 
and handed them to her. The items were 
storage, rent, gas, electric light, household, 
lodge assessments and sundries. 

As Eva read them she grew faint; it 
seemed so strange not to have money enough 
to run the house and pay a few debts. She 
knew she had been spending money some- 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



67 



what more freely of late, — a course of lec- 
tures, a few new books, a new gown at holi- 
day time and one remodeled. She had never 
been extravagant about her clothes. In fact, 
she enjoyed wearing very simple things, but 
at present she was not earning money. 

She reviewed in her mind the happy au- 
tumn and winter days, how she had enjoyed 
her books and studies, how sweet life was 
beginning to be, and now the awakening 
was startling. 

J ohn evidently had nothing more to say. 
He had taken a small book from his pocket 
and was figuring away, apparently unmind- 
ful of everything else. She drew her work 
basket to her and tried to sew, but could not 
keep her mind on her work. 

How she wanted to pay those bills, but 
she had no money except the sum John 
turned over to her each month to run the 
house, and pay the maid. All the other bills 
he had always paid. It had always been 
enough and to spare, until this winter, 
everything seemed to cost so much more, 
she had been obliged to spend it all. 

What could she do to raise money? Her 
art treasures were all in storage awaiting 
the time they were to buy or build the new 
home. As these thoughts were borne in up- 
on her, she wondered what her family and 
friends would say. Oh, if she and John 
could only keep their affairs to themselves. 
What would folks say ? That they had tried 



68 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



to get on too fast and had made fools of 
themselves? They could not honestly say 
that, because she and J ohn had always lived 
most simply. Then as she took in the real 
significance of the situation, she remem- 
bered many who had seemed jealous of her 
success, of her ability to earn money and to 
buy beautiful things for their home. Even 
her relatives seemed to feel she needed to be 
admonished not to spend all she earned. No, 
she had not spent it all, she had saved it and 
given it to John to invest in the way he 
thought best, and now it was gone and there 
was nothing to show for it! 

"Oh yes, there is something — my dia- 
monds ! ' 9 She gladly remembered the j e wel- 
ry that had been put away in the safety 
deposit, before going out to East Shore. She 
decided to say nothing about them to John 
but clasped her hands joyfully. 

"That is one way our debts can be paid," 
she thought. 

She determined to get them in the morn- 
ing and sell them, but where % She knew of 
no place where jewelry was bought, and 
nothing of pawn shops. 

She fell to thinking over their losses and 
wondered why it seemed so much worse to 
be poor than it did to be sick. Presently 
John stopped figuring long enough to say, 
"Better go to bed and get your rest. I will 
work a while longer, until I feel like sleep- 
ing." 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



69 



In the morning when she awoke, she 
remembered having heard the clock strike 
two before she slept or John came to bed. 
She also remembered it was Tuesday and 
she would be obliged to miss the class lesson. 
She decided to 'phone Mrs. Fiske that she 
could not be present. 

The cheery voice of the little lady reached 
her saying, " Never mind, dear, duties never 
conflict. I will save the lesson sheet for 
you and write out the necessary instruction, 
so you will not miss anything. You can 
study it at your leisure." 

Little did Eva realize how thoroughly 
that lesson would be studied; how every 
word would be indelibly impressed on her 
mind. The subject of the lesson was " Pros- 
perity, or lack and supply." 



CHAPTER XIII 



A LOAN 

The next morning Eva met John at the 
X Insurance Company offices. The pa- 
pers were signed, and a sum of money turned 
over to John, who had immediate use for 
every dollar. Eva left him and went to the 
safety deposit vault, and got her diamond 
lavalliere and earrings. She then 'phoned 
Mr. Avery, asking for an interview, saying 
she was in need of information which she 
believed he might be able to furnish. 

"I will be very glad to be of service," Mr. 
Avery responded, "and will see you at any 
time you wish to name." 

6 ' Then I will come at once, ' 9 Eva said. ' 6 1 
will be there at noon." 

When the office girl announced her name 
to Mr. Avery, she was seized with a spell of 
nervousness. She wondered whether John 
would approve of the call, what Mr. Avery 
would think of her, and many questions of a 
similar nature occurred to her, but it was 
too late now for any regrets. 

After Mr. Avery's pleasant greeting, his 
first question was of J ohn. Was he well? 

"John is well," answered Eva, and then 
in her usual straightforward way she said, 
"There is something I wish to talk to you 
about, that I do not care to tell John." 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



71 



Before Mr. Avery could answer, she 
launched into the subject of their straitened 
circumstances, John's inability to meet his 
obligations, and the consequent worry, and 
then she inquired if he knew of any respon- 
sible person who would loan her three hun- 
dred dollars on her diamonds, to tide them 
over till better times. 

Mr. Avery picked up the little velvet box 
Eva had laid on his desk and admired the 
beautiful gems. Then he talked to her of 
their investments, how he regretted advis- 
ing John to invest. 

"But I did it all for the best. I was sure 
I could help him more than double his 
money, but the war has been the mischief. 
Who could foresee that it would work us 
this harm? I was so sure of those stocks," 
he continued, "that I urged my youngest 
sister, who is a school teacher, to let me 
make a little money for her. She gave me 
all she had saved in ten years, and now 
every dollar is gone, but I will make good to 
her if it takes the last penny I have." 

He rose, excused himself, and went into 
the next room. In a few minutes he re- 
turned with a check for three hundred dol- 
lars, which he handed to Eva. 

Pushing the little velvet case towards her 
he said, "Put them safely away, Mrs. Chan- 
ning. I do not need them for security. I 
know both you and John will pay just as 
soon as you can." 



72 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



Eva was so touched by his kindness that 
she could scarcely speak for a moment; then 
putting out her hand, she exclaimed, "Mr. 
Avery, I don't know what to say, I am so 
grateful/ ' 

"Don't say anything, everything will 
come out all right, only we will have to be 
patient, it will take time. We can't hurry, 
and we mustn't worry." 

Then with a strong friendly clasp of the 
hand, and a kindly smile, he bade her good 
bye. 

That evening after dinner Eva placed the 
check in John's hands, and told him what 
she had done. 

J ohn was so surprised that for a moment 
he did not know whether to be pleased or 
displeased. 

It was so unlike Eva to ask favors from 
any one, but as he remembered all the uses 
he had for ready money at the time, he drew 
Eva to him and told her she was a "brave 
little pal." 

The load for the time being was lifted, and 
John's trust in and admiration for Harry 
Avery was doubled. He lost no time in writ- 
ing him, telling him his appreciation of his 
kindness, and gave him his note, bearing in- 
terest at six per cent. Then he joked Eva 
on her business methods, and told her she 
was a "nice holdup lady," to go to a gentle- 
man's office, and get three hundred dollars 
without even giving a note for it. 



CHAPTER XIV 



THE STOCK MARKET 

The next two weeks seemed like a hor- 
ribly bad dream to Eva, as she afterwards 
remembered them. 

There were 'phone calls at all hours of the 
day and night, special delivery letters and 
telegrams, and all sorts of callers, until she 
feared to leave the house, lest something 
might require immediate attention. 

To all her questions J ohn only answered, 

"It's the war, war, war. Who would have 
believed we could or would get into the 
scrap ? It 's knocking the spots out of every- 
thing. No one can talk of anything else but 
war\" 

Evidently no one was sleeping either, for 
the ringing of the 'phone and door bells was 
incessant. 

The weather was heavy, gloomy and for- 
bidding; the cold most penetrating, chilling 
one to the marrow. After a most nerve- 
racking day Eva said, " John, dear, please 
tell me how this affects us. Don't keep me 
in suspense. I want to know. Anything is 
better than this." 

As John looked into the white drawn face, 
he saw she was suffering, and decided that 
the truth was best. He explained how he, 



74 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



with several others, who had invested with 
Mr. Avery, had pooled their issues, when 
they saw their stocks were dropping, and 
were taking turns at watching the market 
for the first favorable turn to "buy in" on 
something else. 

"We tried to get dope from every possible 
source." 

"Dopel" echoed Eva. "What kind of 
dope?" 

"Oh, information, of course," he respond- 
ed laconically. "We had all bought ' peace 
stuff, 9 rails and motors. The government 
has taken over the railroads, and the bottom 
has fallen out of motors. Nothing was going 
good but munitions and war stuff, and we 
had none of that. Stock that we bought at 
two hundred and fifty, dropped to fifty. 
Imagine it!" he said, as he ran his fingers 
through his hair. "It was awful, it was 
pandemonium! Some of the fellows nearly 
lost their balance." 

Looking at John, Eva saw that he too 
looked as if he had reached the limit of his 
endurance. The few threads of silver which 
had glistened in his dark hair had changed 
to a frost of white. The smooth firm contour 
of his face was gone. His flesh looked wrin- 
kled and flabby, and he seemed to have aged 
many years. 

"Well," he said, after a long look into 
vacancy, "there is no use crying over spilled 
milk. Lots of the fellows have lost double 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



75 



what we have, but you can't do more than 
lose all you've got. We must retrench in 
every possible way, to meet our obliga- 
tions/ ' 

"Is all really lost?" asked Eva. 

"Well, it has gone so low that our only 
hope now is to hold on till peace comes, if 
it ever does. Then it may get back to what 
we paid for it, but that may be years. May- 
be never. There is no use talking about it 
anymore. I am dead for sleep. Come." 

The next morning at breakfast Eva wait- 
ed for John to open the subject, but he did 
riot. He appeared to be very deeply en- 
grossed in the morning paper. It was all 
about the war. As Eva picked up a section 
and glanced over it she said, "John, let us 
not grieve over the loss of our money. Think 
of those who must give up their brothers, 
sons, lovers, and" — looking at John most 
searchingly, she added — "husbands. Oh, 
John," she said, putting her arms around 
him, "anything but that! Yet why should 
I be spared when so many are called on to 
part with their dear ones? Money is the 
least of my treasures. Both my boys will be 
spared to me." 

John clasped her to him in a fond em- 
brace. There was nothing to say. 

As the days passed by, they each tried to 
be brave and adjust themselves to the new 
order of things. 

Every unnecessary expense was eliminat- 



76 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



ed. Eva explained to Hilda that the war be- 
tween Germany and America had made 
changes in their financial affairs, and that 
for a time she would be obliged to do with- 
out a maid. She advised her to find outside 
work and room with them. This Hilda did, 
to their mutual satisfaction, and assisted in 
a small way to finance the new budget. 

In spite of all resolutions to the contrary, 
they each carried a heavy heart. Eva was 
kept busy trying to systematize the house- 
work. It seemed to consume all of her time, 
and several weeks passed before she man- 
aged to plan the work to permit her to find 
time to get back to the class at the home of 
Mrs. Fiske. 

As she entered the familiar place she was 
surprised to see the house so dismantled. 
All the beautiful pictures, the draperies 
from the windows and doorways, all the 
lovely bric-a-brac and books were gone. She 
saw Lucille busy directing packers. She ap- 
proached her and said, "What is the reason 
for all these changes V 9 

"Oh, haven 't you heard? Don't you know 
that Mrs. Fiske and I are going over to do 
real war work, and this house is to be used 
till the end of the war as a Red Cross cen- 
ter?" 

"Won't we have any more lessons V\ 
exclaimed Eva in dismay. 
"Not for a while," said Lucille shaking 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



77 



her head, " there is other work to be done 
just now." 

Glancing at the lesson board, Eva read, 
" After April 28th there will be no more les- 
sons for an indefinite period. Let us live the 
life of love, sympathy and service." 



CHAPTER XV 



THE HIGHWAY 

Eva had never known till now how much 
the lessons had meant, or how dear the 
bright faced, understanding little lady had 
become to her. Just then she saw Mrs, 
Fiske approaching, with a bright smile and 
extended hands. As she took the slender 
little hands in her own and stooped to kiss 
the soft cheek, it was all she could do to 
keep back the tears. 

"Oh, you don't know how I shall miss 
you," she said. "What will we all do with- 
out you?" 

With ready intuition Mrs. Fiske seemed 
to know Eva was sorely in need of comfort. 

"Everything will be all right, my dear; 
have no regrets nor tears, we must all fol- 
low the Master's plan; and He has a definite 
plan for each of us, as I have told you. 
Sometimes it seems to lead us by the way of 
the shadows as well as into the sunshine, 
but when we follow willingly He lifts all the 
burden and lights us all the way, and if we 
follow closely and watch we will find the 
highway, the mystical way. You can read 
about it in Isaiah 35-8, 6 The way of whole- 
ness' means God's power to heal us of all 
our diseases through the renewing of our 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



79 



minds. The unclean shall not pass over it, 
yet it shall be for those, when they take the 
spirit to guide them they will be clean, be- 
cause all failure is due to imperfect under- 
standing of God's laws, and when we be- 
come conscious of His Spirit within us, we 
are no longer under the law, but under grace, 
which means favor. Then we begin to walk 
in the Light. Simple, plain, uneducated 
people will be able to walk 'the highway' 
just by letting the Spirit lead them day by 
day, making the contact by prayer and faith, 
using God's word or His promises when 
things appear to be going wrong. Then 
right in the midst of our darkness or uncer- 
tainty a clear shining way of escape will be 
opened, it will come like a flash, like a thief 
in the night. Watch for it, evil is only a 
shadow. 

" 'He shall deliver thee in six troubles, 
yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 
In famine he shall redeem thee from death, 
and in war from the power of the sword. 
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the 
tongue; neither shalt thou be afraid of de- 
struction when it cometh. At destruction 
and famine thou shalt laugh. Thou shalt be 
in league with the stones of the field, and 
the beasts of the fields shall be at peace with 
thee.'" (Job 5:19-23.) 

Mrs. Fiske was wonderfully magnetic, 
and always seemed to convince her hearers. 
Eva was lost in thought, wondering how she 



80 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



could apply Truth to her changed circum- 
stances. " 

A tender smile flitted over Mrs. Fiske 's 
face as she asked Eva, "Have you ever been 
out to the beach, and seen those funny mir- 
rors, that make you look taller, shorter, wid- 
er, and smaller than you are?" 

"Yes, I have," answered Eva wondering 
how such thoughts could come to Mrs. Fiske 
at such a time. 

"Well," said Mrs. Fiske, "they are sim- 
ply illusions, they have no truth in them; 
and when you know that God or Spirit is 
the only power there is, you have the very 
essence of Truth. 

" 'Look unto me and be ye saved, for I am 
thy God, and there is none other.' Let no 
one persuade you there is any power but 
God. Hold fast to that fact in spite of all 
appearances to the contrary. Declare there 
is no evil; say it until your intellect is com- 
pelled to bow down to the truth of the Spirit, 
then all the illusions or appearances of evil 
will vanish, and you will be able to see the 
good in them; if you can do this, you have 
come into your rulership, and will sit with 
Him on His throne of wisdom, and will rule 
your kingdom which has come. (2 Thes. 2 :9, 
10,11.) 

"Do not try to reason these things out, 
just accept them as a little child accepts its 
mother's breast. The hidden things of the 
Spirit will be revealed to you when you ear- 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



81 



nestly desire them, more than pleasures, 
friends or possessions. 

"Now, beloved, I must go. The time is 
short to accomplish many things. I shall 
think of you often, will write to you if I 
can. I am so interested in your development. 

"Here is the lesson you wanted. It is 
complete. I think you will have little diffi- 
culty in understanding it." 

With a gentle caress and a sweet smile she 
left her. Eva left the house like one in a 
dream, the tears almost blinding her in spite 
of all her effort to keep them back. 

"Oh, you dear beautiful soul," she said, 
"you have taught me to know my Savior 
better than I ever did before. I know I 
could bear my burden better if you were 
not going away. Oh, I shall miss you! How 
I shall miss you! God bless and keep you, 
my dear little friend and teacher!" 



CHAPTEE XVI 



WHEN MEN ARE CAST DOWN 

Spring and warmth were slow in coming. 
The season seemed in sympathy with the 
general gloom. The streets and stores were 
full of it, and the pallid, wan faces of many 
looked as if they were having a struggle to 
keep soul and body together. 

Rain, rain, rain, one drizzling cold rain 
succeeded another; vegetation was at a 
standstill; seed rotted in the ground, and 
food prices mounted higher and higher. 
"Keep the home fires burning " was heard 
everywhere. 

"I wouldn't care," thought Eva, "if we 
had all the rain and mud, if the sun would 
only shine for the boys 'over there.' " 

Each night before retiring it was Eva's 
custom to slip into Sonny's room to make 
sure he had sufficient ventilation and cover- 
ing. 

' 6 God bless my boy, ' ' she murmured, ' ' and 
all those 'over there'; help all those from 
whom they have parted to have courage and 
cheer till they all come home again. I can- 
not do much but pray for them," she sighed, 
"but I know God hears and answers." 

It required most persistent effort to be 
cheerful in the face of all the events which 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



83 



had taken place. Home and money gone, 
increased expenses and many debts. Every 
one seemed busy with their own economies, 
there was no time for curiosity or comment. 
Eva tried to forget her heartaches and knit- 
ted away most industriously. The appeals 
for buyers of Liberty Bonds filled her with 
keen regret; she wanted to buy lavishly in- 
stead of just one bond which had taken all 
the money that could be spared from the 
small amount available. Most rigidly she 
tried to follow all the economies mapped out 
by the government to conserve. There was 
no waste in Eva's scheme of things; no one 
could have lived more simply, but it was not 
easy. When Sonny came home from school 
at noon, he invariably said, " Hello, mother, 
I'm most starved! What have you got to 
eat? What sort of a day is this, heatless, 
wheatless, meatless or eatless? Oh, pray 
tell me, when do we eat?" 

Each day she followed the rule she had 
made for herself, to spend at least half an 
hour in Bible study, meditation and prayer. 
This she found most helpful. She often 
wished J ohn would show greater interest in 
the things she read or told him for encour- 
agement; he seemed so indifferent, so list- 
less, and so quiet all the time. 

Suddenly a horrible fear seemed to obsess 
her. Suppose his mind should become un- 
balanced over their changed circumstances ! 
Worry had seemed to sap the very life out of 



84 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



him. She wondered how she could rouse 
him, and went to search among her Truth 
books for something which would apply to 
his case. 

In her search she found the lesson sheet 
Mrs. Fiske had given her. As she unfolded 
it she saw the subject was " Prosperity, or 
lack and supply. " Enclosed was a sealed en- 
velope addressed to her in Mrs. Fiske 's own 
writing; in one corner were the words, 
" Please do not open until after a thorough 
study of the lesson." 

Eva put the letter aside almost reverently. 
A request from Mrs. Fiske seemed a sacred 
thing. "Why is it," she thought, "every 
one regards her with so much respect and 
love?" 

Almost instantly, as if in answer to 
her inquiry, these words came into her mind, 
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all men unto me." (John 12:32.) 

"That is exactly the reason, I believe she 
is exalted by a higher spiritual understand- 
ing, and every one who comes in contact 
with her feels it," thought Eva. 

Taking her Bible from the table, she 
turned to the first reference, "But seek ye 
first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness, and all these things shall be added un- 
to you." 

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not 
want." (Ps.23:l.) 

"And he said unto them, When I sent you 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



85 



without purse and scrip, and shoes, lacked 
ye anything? And they said, Nothing. 
(Luke 22:25.) 

"Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, 
for it is he who giveth thee power to get 
wealth. Yea, the Lord shall be thy defense, 
and thou shalt have plenty of silver. " (J ob 
22:25.) 

"For then shalt thou delight thyself in 
the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face 
unto God." (Job 22:26.) 

"Thou shalt make the prayer unto him, 
and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay 
thy vows." (Job 22:27.) 

"Thou shalt also decree a thing and it 
shall be established unto thee, and the light 
shall shine upon thy ways." (Job 22:28.) 

Eva read the last reference over and over 
again; she read the entire chapter several 
times, and pondered over it. 

"Is it possible that God is ready and will- 
ing to supply people with material things — 
money?" she thought. We were always 
taught God knew and cared for his own, 
those who loved and feared Him, but should 
trouble or privation come it was a lesson to 
teach us to follow more closely, also to be 
thankful for every blessing, and make the 
best of undesirable things. 

But here was authority for something en- 
tirely different from the old way of think- 
ing. She reviewed the entire lesson, and 
was quite oblivious to the passing of time, 



86 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



till she heard Sonny's voice in the hall, and 
knew it was time to put Bible and books 
away and prepare the evening meal. 

John looked unusually weary when he 
came home, and in answer to Eva's cheery, 
"How are you?" said, "I think I am in need 
of more exercise. I believe I will start a 
war garden somewhere." Then, as if won- 
dering where, he lapsed into silence. 

After dinner had been put away and Son- 
ny was busy with his lessons in his room, 
John and Eva went into the living room. 
Perfect silence reigned for some time. Eva 
went across the room to J ohn, who was sit- 
ting with closed eyes in a large arm chair. 
She seated herself at his side, slipped her 
arm under his head; she told him about the 
lesson she had been studying. Still he did 
not open his eyes nor appear to be the least 
bit interested. As Eva talked she became 
more and more earnest, and John finally 
said, "The days of miracles are past, Eva, 
and I take no stock in fairy tales." 

"But, John, dear," persisted Eva, "God's 
r word is as true today as it was when he was 
on earth. Listen," she said, taking her Bi- 
ble from the table, and opening it at the 
marker, Job 22: "When men are cast down 
thou shalt say, ' There is lifting up, and he 
shall save the humble person. ' (J ob 22 :29.) 

" ' Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, 
and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay 
thy vows (or debts).' 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



87 



"Oh, J ohn, let us decree that he shall hear 
us and restore us. Let us humble ourselves 
and ask him to lift us out of this pit of gloom 
and poverty, so that we can smile again. 
That is the light which we need to shine up- 
on our way." 

She was now on the footstool at his feet; 
in her earnestness she had put her arms 
around his neck, drawing his face close to 
hers, and was softly sobbing. 

"John," she whispered, "promise me you 
will ask Him, let us tell Him all about it. 
We have not taken Him into our lives and 
plans, and this is His way of teaching us that 
without Him there is nothing. Let us ask 
for faith to believe in all His promises, and 
thank Him now." 

Together they knelt hand in hand, like 
two little children, by the side of the arm 
chair. As they rose it seemed to each of 
them a heavy burden had rolled away. 

John had never made any pretensions of 
being better than the rest of the fellows. He 
was clean, honest, and had always tried to 
"play the game square." It was indeed a 
new thought for him to believe that God or 
the Spirit of God dwelt in every one, wait- 
ing to be called into counsel, and to help 
mankind in every need, just by believing 
and trusting. 

A new vista seemed to have opened be- 
fore him, in which he seemed to have a part 
to fulfill. 



CHAPTEE XVn 



PROSPERITY 

The next day Eva very conscientiously 
reviewed the lesson, and felt she was en- 
titled to read Mrs. Fiske's letter, which was 
quite voluminous and characteristic of her 
thoroughness. 
"My dear one, 

" 'What things soever ye desire when ye 
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye 
will have them. ' The desire for prosperity 
or substance has caught more fish for the 
kingdom than any other bait. We think it 
is things we need to satisfy us, but we shall 
never be really satisfied until we find God. 
That is why we were told 'Seek ye first the 
Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and 
all these things will be added unto you.' 
They follow naturally after you have found 
the kingdom within you. 

"We have been in the habit of thinking it 
was wrong to ask God for material things 
when prosperity is the very presence of God, 
if rightly used. Christ was not poor, he 
only became so to teach us how to demon- 
strate plenty. He wore the finest seamless 
garments, made the best wine and fed the 
multitude. People have felt that it is wrong 
to be rich, when the only wrong thing about 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



89 



it is to love it more than God or forget to use 
it for others. True prosperity adds to the 
richness of the whole world. 

"The poverty of some people with plenty 
of money is pitiful! Prosperity is a con- 
sciousness, a right attitude of mind and 
heart toward material things. It is co-op- 
eration with God. Prosperity is of God, 
like life and health. It is man's privilege 
to use these divine gifts as he wills. Pros- 
perity is the expression of comfort, power, 
beauty, freedom, that is always associated 
with the kingdom of heaven. To be spirit- 
ually minded is to be a magnet for prosper- 
ity. 

"Identify your prosperity with God. 
Bless every dollar which passes through 
your hands. Do not think of losses and fail- 
ures, or you will produce them. Never 
speak of hard times or scarcity of money. 
We each decide the character of the times 
by our mental attitude. In all your dealings 
be sure the Lord is on your side. ' They shall 
prosper that love thee.' Say often 'All that 
the Father hath is mine. 9 (Ps. 122 :6.) Be- 
lieve yourself to be a beloved daughter of 
the king. Conduct yourself as one, have no 
anxious thoughts about your supply. Pray, 
believe, trust, forgive every one. Money is 
the shadow, God is the substance. Radiate 
prosperity, have a rich mentality. In your 
meditations affirm, 'I am a great distribut- 
ing center of God's prosperity.' Then as 



90 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



you use His good gifts for others, as well 
as for yourself, more will be given you. We 
should be open channels to be used for the 
inflow and the outflow of the Spirit. 

"Our prosperity is always another's, we 
must pass it on. We clog up the channel 
when we try to hold it. Do not fret if you 
spend your last dollar, if you hold fast to 
the thought, 'He will never desert nor for- 
sake me ; He supplieth every need. ' 

"Do not spend beyond your present in- 
come nor run up accounts. Pay as you go. 
More will be provided for you, if you hold 
to His promises. He tells us to prove it in 
Mai. 3:10. 

"' Bring all your tithes into the store- 
house, that there may be meat in mine 
house and prove me now herewith,' saith 
the Lord of Hosts, 'if I shall not open the 
windows of heaven, and pour you out a 
blessing that there shall not be room enough 
to receive it. 9 

"This is a very clear demand made upon 
us to help others; as we do this our right 
hand will give out and our left hand bring 
in. 'Delight thyself in the law of the Lord, 
thereby good will come unto thee.' The law 
is as exact as mathematics. 

" 'Fear not, little flock, for it is your 
Father's good pleasure to give you the 
Kingdom.' (Luke 12:32.) Have no envy 
or jealousy for another's good fortune; if 
you are not succeeding, change your 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



91 



thoughts 'Cast your net on the other side/ 
Use your prosperity as a good steward and 
then your net will not break nor your pos- 
sessions slip away. Always make the Fath- 
er's business your business. 'Show them 
the way.' Always acknowledge the source 
of your supply. 

"Be conscious that you have contained 
within yourself all capacity, or prosperity. 
Enlarge your view of God, break away from 
all fear of lack. Don't patronize bargain 
counters or hunt for cheap things. Penny 
gifts bring penny returns. 

" Never withhold praise or credit due an- 
other; pass it on, or your own good will be 
retarded and your power of expression de- 
creased. 'Owe no man anything.' Be glad 
to pay your debts, even if they have been 
outlawed, for in God's law they must be 
paid, 'the balances must be just.' Exact no 
undue profits from any one. (Ezk. 45:9.) 
'Do not become alarmed or angry when you 
are charged exorbitant prices. We all must 
pay tribute to Caesar, the world, even 
Christ did, and he taught us to go to the sea, 
meaning the invisible realm of supply where 
all our prayers are transmuted into gold. 
What need we care about the cost of things 
when God is our banker?' 

" 'Give, and it shall be given unto you; 
good measure pressed down, and shaken to- 
gether, and running over, shall men give 
into your bosom, for with the same measure 



92 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to 
you again/ (Luke 6:38.) 

"Push away from the shores of limitation 
into the great stream of prosperity. You 
need not be a prey for the unscrupulous nor 
parsimonious if you ask direction of the 
spirit. Never say, 'I cannot afford/ but say 
confidently, 'My father is rich.' Lift up 
your mind, for God is the source of your 
supply. The spirit is back of all. There is 
wealth all around you subject to the higher 
law of mind and spirit. 

"The more you learn about God and ac- 
cept Him into your life, the more successful 
you will become in your affairs and in your 
health; nothing comes by chance, always 
cause and effect. God gives man the law 
and man puts the law into operation. If 
you carry out the law righteously, you will 
get righteous results. 6 A good man out of 
the treasures of his heart, bringeth forth 
good things. 9 (Matt. 12:35.) 

" 6 And all these blessings shall come 
upon thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt 
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 9 
(Deu. 28:2.) 

" ' Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and 
blessed shalt thou be in the field.' (Deu. 
28:3.) 

" ' Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, 
and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of 
thy cattle, and the increase of thy kine and 
the flocks of thy sheep.' (Deu. 28:4.) 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



93 



" ' Blessed shall be thy basket and thy 
store. ' 

" ' Blessed shalt thou be when thou com- 
est in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou 
goestout.' (Deu. 28:6.) 

" 'And the Lord shall make thee plen- 
teous of goods, in the fruit of thy body, and 
the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy 
ground. ' 

" "The Lord shall open unto thee his good 
treasure; the heaven to give thee rain unto 
thv land in his season, and to bless all the 
work of thine hand.' (Deu. 28:11,12.) 

"We must have no pride or belief in our 
own powers. Give all thy glory to the Spir- 
it. 

" ' Beware that thou forget not the Lord 
thy God. Lest when thou hast eaten and 
art full, and has built goodly houses and 
dwelt therein, and when thy herds and 
flocks multiply, and thy silver and gold is 
multiplied, and all that thou hast is multi- 
plied, then thine heart be lifted up and thou 
forget the Lord thy God and thou say in 
thine heart, My power and the might of 
mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.' 
(Deu. 8:10,14,17.) 

" ' But thou shalt remember the Lord thy 
God, for it is He that giveth thee power to 
get wealth.' (Deu. 8:18.) 

"Always remember who the real giver is, 
praise and thank Him. Do not be afraid to 
ask God, and do not beg. Be earnest, rev- 



94 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



erent, steadfast. Remember what to seek 
first, the sound, scientific foundation of 
eternal prosperity. Do right and think 
right for principle and not for the perqui- 
sites or things added. ' For the blessings of 
the Lord it maketh rich and addeth no sor- 
row therewith.' 

" Faithfully yours, 

"ELLA O. FISKE." 



CHAPTER XVIII 



"ARISE, SHINE, THY LIGHT IS COME" 

It was nearly the middle of May. The 
lease of the little apartment would expire 
the first of June, and the future was still 
most indefinite for John and Eva. They 
were each wondering what was best to be 
done. The daily papers were scanned, as 
they hoped and prayed for a way to be 
opened to them. 

One evening, as Eva was preparing din- 
ner, she heard John's step in the hall. It 
was the old brisk step, full of life and en- 
ergy. She waited for him to enter. She 
saw a new expression on his face. 

"What is it, John?" she asked. 

"Something great!" he responded. "I'll 
tell you presently." 

Hope was kindled in Eva's breast. When 
they had settled themselves for the evening 
John said, "You have often heard me speak 
of Mr. Fields?" 

Eva assented. 

"Well, I have handled his affairs for near- 
ly sixteen years. He was in the office today 
and has asked me to take charge of all his 
interests here, collections, etc. He has giv- 
en me power of attorney. His wife wants 



96 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



to be with their daughter and grandchil- 
dren, who live in Rochester. 

"When I inquired what he was going to 
do with his house, he said, ' That is the one 
thing we have been unable to decide. We 
do not care to sell it; it is a beautiful place. 
We may want to come back some time, and 
we would not care to rent it to any one who 
would not take care of it.' ' How would we 
do for tenants?' I asked. 'Do you mean it, 
are you looking for a house?' he asked. ' Yes, 
we are, 9 1 told him. 

"Well, the conclusion of the whole matter 
is, he has offered me a very liberal salary, 
and his house for two years, providing, of 
course, your ladyship agrees to it." 

" Agrees to it\" echoed Eva. "Oh, John, 
it is God's answer to our prayers. I am so 
glad. We must not forget to be grateful." 

John gathered her to him in a fond em- 
brace and said, "Surely, I am grateful." 
And then as if to hide the depth of his feel- 
ings, he saluted, marched up and down the 
room like a soldier, whistling, "Pack all 
your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, 
smile, smile." 

During the busy days that followed, 
packing, cleaning and unpacking, Eva never 
once complained of being tired. There was 
an unspeakable joy in her heart, and sin- 
cere thanksgiving. She felt as if she could 
again look the world in the face. No one 
knew or ever should know the depths of 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



97 



despair and discouragement through which 
they had passed. 

"Oh, God," she whispered, "I thank thee 
with all my heart for all thy loving kind- 
ness. Grant that I may never falter in my 
duty to others." 

Sometimes it all seemed too good to be 
true; to be in a beautiful home, where they 
could stay for at least two years, surround- 
ed by her own belongings, the outdoors, the 
velvety green lawn, the hedges and trees, 
all beautiful in new spring verdure. The 
world seemed a beautiful place. 

Day by day the prospect grew more hope- 
ful. Several old debts which J ohn had de- 
spaired of ever being paid were settled and 
several new clients were added to his lists. 
Eva saw God in it all and could scarcely be 
thankful enough. Into all her sewing and 
knitting were woven the thoughts of God's 
goodness to them. 

"I must pass it on," she said. "I must 
tell others how to find the way." 

John was very much surprised one day 
to receive a letter from the postmaster at 
Crossingtown, offering him a very fair price 
for the old abandoned farm. John conclud- 
ed there must be a good reason back of the 
offer and decided to take a run down and in- 
vestigate. 

He discovered that oil had been struck on 
the surrounding farms. He entered into a 
contract with the drillers, who sunk a well 



98 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



and got a very good flow of oil, which sold 
for many times more than the offer he had 
had for the farm. 

John and Eva once more lifted their 
hearts in praise and thanksgiving for the 
richness of God's gifts to them. Their 
debts were paid most gladly, and many in 
need were assisted. "The light is come,^ 
and their faith is perfect. 

All summer long as Eva worked among 
the flowers in the beautiful garden, she was 
supremely happy. 

"We are just like the buds, hard and 
unbeautif ul, " she said, "until the sunshine 
of God's love warms and unfolds us." 

One morning in September, Eva received 
a letter which had been forwarded from the 
former address, which read as follows : 
"My dear Mrs. Channing: — 

"We have missed Mrs. Fiske and the les- 
sons so much. A few of the class have met 
and decided to carry out the schedule Mrs. 
Fiske left us as best we can. We will meet 
at my house next Tuesday, at 2.00 P. M. 
Please try to be with us. 

"Cordially yours, 

"EMMA RAY, 
"28 Fern Avenue." 

"Good, I am glad," said Eva. "The truth 
has made me happier than anything I have 
ever known. I walk in a new world of love, 
joy and peace." 



CHAPTEE XIX 



HAPPINESS 

Tuesday dawned bright and clear. Eva 
awakened with a pleasurable feeling of an- 
ticipation. 

" Today is class day," she said, "I wonder 
how many will be there." 

She was glad to see nearly all of the 
former members, who were delighted to be 
together again. 

"Why is it," thought Eva, "all these 
people were strangers to me less than a year 
ago, yet I seem to know and understand 
them better than those whom I have known 
all my life?" 

Instantly the Spirit answered, "If we 
walk in the light as He is in the light, we 
will have fellowship one with another, and 
the blood, or life, of J esus Christ, His Son, 
cleanseth us from all sin. " (1 J ohn 1 :7.) 

The lesson board was on the wall, on 
which Mrs. Ray had written out the refer- 
ences for study and inspiration. 

"Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, 
whose mind is stayed on thee, because He 
trusteth in thee." (Is. 26:3.) 

"Thou wilt show me the path of life, in 
thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right 



100 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



hand there are pleasures forever more." 
(Ps. 16:11; also Ps. 30:5; Ps. 92:13-14.) 

The first hymn that was sung seemed 
most appropriate for the lesson. 
"I do not walk alone, my joy I'd give to thee, 
Oh, brother, sister, claim thine own, 
And find sweet liberty." 

The lesson was studied in much the usual 
way and then a summary written by Mrs. 
Fiske was read by Mrs. Ray. 

"Beloved: ' Joy to the world the Lord is 
come. ' After all our restless discontent and 
searching for satisfaction, we find the only 
permanent joy comes from a conscious 
union with God, the ' Indwelling Presence.' 
Then we exclaim as Mary did, ' My Lord 
and my God. ' 

"Our heart's hunger is satisfied. We are 
now sons and heirs of God, what more do 
we need to make us glad? We are born 
again, having washed away the old thoughts 
of gloom and fear and accepted the leaven 
of the Spirit which will lighten or illumine 
the whole lump of humanity. If we do the 
will of our Father we have Heaven here, 
and now. ' Enter ye into the joy of the Lord, 
awake to all the possibilities of your risen 
self.' He never called himself a poor mis- 
erable sinner, or ever said, 'I am a weak 
worm of the dust.' He said, 'All power is 
given to me in Heaven and on earth. ' 

"This is true of you. ' All things are possi- 
ble to him that believeth. Not I, but the 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



101 



Father in me. He doeth the work. Turn 
away from all thoughts of failure, be brave, 
fear not.' 

" 'The works that I do, ye shall do and 
more. Let him work in you and through you, 
it is His good pleasure to give you the King- 
dom. ' (Luke 12 :32.) Be a good witness for 
him, demonstrating health, abundance and 
joy. Glorify yourselves with His glory. 
Rejoice that the wisdom of God, which is 
the foolishness of men, reveals a way to 
overcome the world. 

"Not by might, not by power, but by my 
spirit. Watch the Lord win the victory for 
you. Let your joy be an expression of the 
Spirit; if you are not happy, try to make 
some one else happy, and see how quickly 
the mirror of life reflects happiness. Your 
real selves are sinless, pure and happy. ' Be 
ye therefore perfect.' See God or good in 
everything. His love in the warmth of the 
sunshine, His power and majesty in the 
storm, His beauty and wholeness in every 
one. Radiate sunshine. He only appeared 
to be a man of sorrows in order to comfort 
mankind, being acquainted with all of life's 
problems, yet knowing the solution. 

"Be calm in your soul, in all of life's 
turmoil affirm, He restoreth my soul (poise, 
equanimity, self possession). Help others 
to be calm; silently speak the word for them 
for health, abundance and joy, in the crowd- 
ed cars and streets, for 'My words are Spirit 



102 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



and Truth, and they shall not return unto 
me void, but shall accomplish that there- 
unto they are sent/ Never separate your- 
self in thought from God. Always affirm, ' I 
and the Father are one.' (John 10:30.) 

"For every discord affirm God is love, for 
love can transmute all things ; not the weak, 
selfish thing we name love, but the great, 
broad universal love of God. For all who 
mourn, try the healing power of love, send 
out your love thoughts to those who have 
passed into the invisible realm. If you have 
neglected to speak the words of forgiveness, 
appreciation or love, it is not too late. Life 
cannot die, it is eternal, and thought is not 
bounded by time or space. Live the life, 
follow along the highway. (Is. 35). It is 
the way. Make your minds fertile with 
thoughts of God, then all the barren, soli- 
tary, lonely hours will vanish, your bewil- 
dered ideas will shape themselves in orderly 
ways, and refresh you with comfort and 
sweetness. Old doubts and fears, which 
were like lions and dragons in your path, 
will be overcome, even the serpent, which 
is only the symbol of worldly wisdom, will 
be gone, for we are redeemed by the Spirit, 
and sighing and sorrow will flee away. 
Weepers and wailers have missed the opti- 
mism of Christ, sorrow has no part in the 
heavenly plan. 

"Put aside your worries, with an increase 
of faith, leave your creeds for Christ. Be of 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



103 



good cheer, rise above your sorrows and 
rescue others from the vale of tears. If you 
would have the abiding peace that cannot be 
destroyed nor taken from you, continue true 
to the Christ within. It is not Christ 
crucified any more. 'It is finished.' Christ 
is risen and is knocking on the inside of 
your heart's door, waiting for you to open, 
that he may live in your life and have ex- 
pression through you." 

As the last words were read by Mrs. Bay 
there was a stillness that could be felt in 
the room. Every one's thoughts seemed 
far away on the beloved little teacher. The 
stillness was broken by one of the members 
asking for Mrs. Fiske's favorite hymn, 
"Open my eyes, that I may see 
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me, 
Place in my hands the wonderful key 
That shall unclasp and set me free. 
Silently now I wait for thee, 
Eeady, my God, Thy will to see. 
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine." 

In fancy they all saw a slender little fig- 
ure, a gentle face crowned with silver hair, 
keen gray eyes and smiling mouth, singing 
with them. A beloved picture, never to be 
effaced. 

The lesson was over, yet many lingered 
to discuss it. Eva heard different ones thank 
Mrs. Eay for the hospitality of her home, 
and the benefit derived from the lesson. As 
Eva bade her hostess good-bye, she said, 



104 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



"No one will ever know how much I owe 
this class and Mrs. Fiske for my knowledge 
of Truth; it has simply transformed my 
life." 

"And mine/' said Mrs. Kay. "I do not 
like to think how I lived without it." 

On the way home Eva meditated on the 
satisfaction and enjoyment of the lesson. 

"I wonder what some of my friends 
would think of me," she mused. "If I 
should tell them the ' Truth' as I have 
learned it, they would say I had lost my 
mind." Then, smiling, she continued, 
"Well, maybe I have, but I have lost it to 
my higher self, I have found a truth I have 
tested and I would not exchange it for all 
the things I used to call ' happiness.' " 



CHAPTER XX 



NEVER SEPARATE (JOHN 10:30) 

The evening hours were precious ones in 
the Channing home, and were never consid- 
ered dull or uninteresting. The library 
table was spread with a wide choice of good 
reading. Eva's work basket also occupied 
space on it, as calls for repairs and buttons 
were frequent. A new book was absorbing 
John's attention as Eva seated herself near 
the reading lamp and took up a piece of 
needlework, which she presently put down 
and turned to her notebook that she always 
used at class lessons. 

"Well, what's on your mind?" said John, 
as Eva sat quietly thinking. 

"Oh, just today's lesson," answered Eva. 
"The subject was ' Happiness.' " 

"What were the points?" inquired John. 

"Well, the point that impressed me most, 
was to never separate ourselves in thought 
from God, to always be one with him. It 
seems so presumptuous for us to say, 'I and 
the Father are one.' " 

"Yes, I suppose it does to most of us," 
said John, closing his book and settling 
back in his chair, as if willing to discuss the 
subject, much to Eva's delight. She always 



106 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



enjoyed hearing John's views on the les- 
sons. 

" There are so many of us who seldom 
think of God at all, and when we finally 
come to it, we see a great many things very 
differently. The boys" (and Eva knew he 
referred to two with whom he had studied 
law and three fraternity men, who were lo- 
cated in the same building) "are beginning 
to be very much interested and impressed 
with the new view of things. 

" After our financial reverses we had lit- 
tle to say to each other. Talking of them 
only made us feel worse. I seemed to be 
the first to recover, although I was hit the 
hardest, and they all knew it, because I was 
so cut up about losing your savings; then 
as our prospects brightened I tried to cheer 
the rest, and get them interested, but it 
seemed of little use until Bob Mason lost 
two of his children with the 'flu.' 

"We all knew just how he was fixed, 
everything mortgaged to the limit, and we 
wondered what we could do to help him. 
One by one they drifted in to talk things 
over and we concluded to make up a little 
purse for him. I was glad to be able to con- 
tribute as much as all the rest combined. 

" 'Old Bob' tried to thank us, but 
couldn't. The tears just rolled down his 
cheeks as he shook hands with us. When 
everything had been done that could be 
done for Bob, they were all ready to talk 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



107 



and think of God. I explained the ' Truth 9 
to them as I believe men want to know it. 
Not goody, goody, pious, sad stuff, which 
we all get surfeited with, but to know God 
as an unvarying principle for power and 
good, which we, the varying factors, can 
utilize to the extent of our faith. An open 
choice for the working out of our own sal- 
vation and the responsibility placed on each 
individual. 

"At first they looked at me as if they 
thought I was devising a new form of men- 
tal gymnastics for their entertainment," 
continued John, "but I told them to give it 
a fair tryout at least. I told them to learn 
the 91st Psalm. Anyway, I have done my 
best to put them on the inside track, and 
now it is up to them. It's a man's game, 
all right, and requires both courage and 
persistency to play it. ' ' 

"Oh, John," laughed Eva, "the inside 
track and the highway must be the same 
way. I can't tell you how happy it makes 
me to think we are going along together." 

"You are the watchman who has given 
the warning. Ezekiel 33 :9. You have done 
your part," answered John. 

Just then Hilda's voice was heard, in the 
dining room. She, too, had learned to sing, 
"There's a silver lining through the dark 
clouds shining." 

"She seems happy, too," said John. 

"I know she is," responded Eva, "because 



108 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



she said 'big money' wasn't everything. 
She only held it long enough to pay for car- 
f are, lunches, and laundry and she was tired 
all the time with the noise and hurry. She 
likes domestic work best, where she can 
wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and 
find time to mend and knit. We seem to 
understand each other so much better nowa- 
days; she knows we share every comfort 
with her, and I see her now as a soul, which 
I must help unfold, instead of as a servant. 
A vexatious problem was solved.' ' 



CHAPTEE XXI 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE 

As the days are going by, what about 
Sonny? As far as possible, every unpleas- 
ant thing had been kept from his knowledge, 
as both father and mother believed child- 
hood should be a period of blissful mem- 
ories, and Sonny never knew how narrowly 
he had escaped paths of toil and hardship, 
through lack of preparation, into avenues of 
knowledge and glorious opportunity. He 
was in his senior year at high school and was 
an active, wholesome, happy lad. Very im- 
patient at times with his parents because 
they would not allow him to quit school and 
enlist. Often hinting of "some folks" who 
were not very patriotic, until his father said, 
"Son, it is not patriotism that is troubling 
you, it is love of adventure. Make a success 
of the work in hand, and you will be ready 
for the next thing. " Sonny was silenced. 
One day he came home, jubilant. 

"Mother, who do you think I saw at school 
today % ' ' he said. " I '11 give you three guess- 
es." 

When Eva failed to guess she was told the 
name of Buddy, or, properly, James K. 
Lewis, his childhood friend. 

"He's been transferred to our school, and 



110 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



has invited me to lunch at his home Satur- 
day. Of course you will say I may go, " 

As Eva assented, his cap went flying into 
the air and Eva was given several bear hugs. 

Sonny arrived at Buddy's home an hour 
before lunchtime; he would have started 
still earlier had not his mother prevailed on 
him to rake the dead leaves from the lawn. 
Buddy was equally glad to have Sonny come 
early, there were so many things to talk 
about. 

Buddy's den was over the kitchen, the 
day was warm and balmy and the windows 
were both open. Presently a most tantaliz- 
ing odor pervaded the room. Sonny began 
to feel hungry and could think of nothing 
else. "Um, um," said Sonny, "how good 
that smell is, what is it % 1 9 " Oh, I know. 1 ' 

Pause. Sniff, sniff. Then both said 
"doughnuts!" 

Buddy rushed downstairs, followed by 
Sonny, who found himself in an immaculate 
little kitchen where Sis was discovered with 
cheeks like pink roses, and all her pretty 
bright curls tucked under a dainty white 
cap, frying doughnuts. 

Sonny looked at Sis, then at the bowl of 
doughnuts. Could this lovely girl with 
sleeves rolled away from plump white arms, 
and trim little figure in spotless gingham 
dress, be the same little Sis who used to 
gather all the dirt from everywhere on her 
round little person? He soon saw it was. 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



111 



The same radiant smile answered him, then 
a vivid blush. 

"I can't shake hands with you," she said, 
showing her floury hands, "but I am glad to 
see you. Have a doughnut, lunch will be 
ready soon." 

Buddy had already helped himself to one 
and was handing the great brown bowl to 
Sonny. As Sonny ate his doughnut, his ad- 
miration for Sis grew greater and greater. 

"Who would have believed she could 
grow into such a dandy girl?" he thought. 

They all enjoyed the lunch. Sis received 
a number of compliments on her proficiency 
as a cook, and the time passed happily and 
without constraint. Mrs. Lewis frequently 
turned her face aside to hide her smiles as 
she listened to them. They had all grown 
up, yet they were still just simple, happy 
children. 

Sunday afternoon found Eva deeply ab- 
sorbed in a book, and she failed to hear Son- 
ny outside the open window. He peeked in 
at her, then vanished to return with a long 
stemmed flower with which he tickled her. 
After brushing an imaginary fly away a 
time or two, Eva turned to see the culprit, 
who used his long legs most dexterously to 
climb through the window. 

"Mother, I want a favor, a sure enough 
favor, "he said. 

"All right, son, what can I do for you?" 
said Eva. 



112 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



"I want a party, a real party, everything 
nice, you know the kind," answered Sonny, 

"For how many?" asked Eva. 

"Just twelve, counting me," said Sonny 
with his hands on his chest, then taking a 
slip from his pocket he seated himself on 
the arm of his mother's chair, and together 
they looked over the names. 

The names of Buddy and Sis were first on 
the list. An opportunity was given to Eva 
to ask Sonny about his former playmates, 
their studies and pursuits. Sonny was only 
too willing to talk of them, especially of Sis 
and her training in domestic science, the 
wonderful doughnuts and her ability to play 
and sing all the patriotic songs. 

"Really, mother," he concluded, "she's 
just a wonderful girl, and pretty, too." 

Eva was greatly amused at Sonny's fre- 
quent expressions of praise and admiration 
and determined to keep her eyes open. 

"Well, how about the party, mother? Is 
it a go?" Sonny finally asked. 

"Why, I think so, " responded Eva, "fath- 
er and I will talk it over. I'll tell you tomor- 
row." 

This seemed equivalent to saying "Yes" 
and Sonny said, "That will be great. Moth- 
er, you're a peach." Several bear hugs fol- 
lowed. In a flash he had vanished as he 
came, through the window, and as her eyes 
followed his tall, lithe form, she realized 
that her boy was rapidly growing into man- 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



113 



hood. She discovered Sonny was a prime 
favorite with the gentler sex. The very next 
day a beautiful little girl about five years 
old came on the porch where Eva was knit- 
ting and asked for the " great, big, long, 
high, tall boy," using her little hands to de- 
scribe her meaning. With an effort to re- 
press a smile Eva said, "He has gone to 
school, you must come again when he is 
home." 

"My sister goes to his school, too," the 
little maid said, "and he gave her some of 
those flowers," pointing at the still bloom- 
ing cosmos. 

"Oh, did he?" said Eva, taking the hint, 
• ' maybe you would like to have some. ' ' The 
little lady smiled and nodded her head. 

"Come along," said Eva, "we will get 
some." 

With her little arms full of flowers she 
left, happily saying as she went, "Next time 
I come I'll get some more." Eva laughed. 
"Gh, for the faith of a little child," she said, 
"taking everything for granted." 



CHAPTEE XXII 



DREAMS AND VISIONS 

When Eva broached the subject of the 
party to John, he smilingly said, "Yes, of 
course, let us give him as many pleasures 
as we can at home, then he will not search 
for them elsewhere. Time flies so fast, it 
will not be long at best before he will be 
leaving us for a home of his own. 

"Why can't we have a few of our friends 
in for the evening? It is a long time since 
we have done any entertaining. Our pros- 
pects look bright, we are under the law of 
the Spirit, let us share our pleasures." 

Eva assented joyously, and preparations 
began at once. 

Hilda was as happy as Sonny with the 
anticipation of a party, and they suddenly 
became great cronies. Sonny performed all 
sorts of tasks and errands with alacrity, and 
conferences were held in the kitchen almost 
every evening regarding the kinds of cake 
Hilda could make. 

Sonny listened attentively as Hilda count- 
ed them on her fingers, especially one, she 
expatiated on it, the recipe having been 
handed down for several generations. The 
ingredients were raisins, currants, citron, 
orange peel, nutmeats, dates, honey and 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



115 



spices, and which she assured him would 
keep fresh for months, it was so good. Son- 
ny did not doubt anything except its " keep- 
ing" qualities. His mouth watered, he 
wanted to have a hand in that cake, and he 
offered to come home directly after school 
the next day and help to crack nuts and pick 
over the raisins. 

Hilda listened gravely and said, " Tomor- 
row you must go by Mrs. Lewis' and get one 
more candle branch." Sonny had acquired 
a new tune which he sang or whistled on 
all occasions. It was about " Katie, wonder- 
ful Katie," and the high treble notes fre- 
quently broke and dropped down to a deep 
bass much to Hilda's surprise. Such music 
was not conducive to concentration, and 
Hilda decided she had better work out her 
cake problems alone. 

Next day when Sonny returned from 
school his first exclamation was, "Great 
guns! what smells so good?" As his eyes 
feasted on the great golden brown cake with 
never a scorch or burn to mar it, he said, "If 
it tastes half as good as it looks and smells, 
it's a hummer." 

Maybe Hilda did not understand what a 
hummer was, but she looked pleased. Soon 
the house was in shining spotless order and 
the larder replete with good things. 

The night of the party arrived at last, 
clear, cold and starlit, making the cheer and 
warmth of the open fires most acceptable. 



116 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



Huge feathery chrysanthemums, asters and 
marigold blossoms beautified the rooms. A 
number of pleasant surprises had been plan- 
ned for the guests. Games and dancing to 
furnish entertainment for all. 

Father and mother assisted Sonny in re- 
ceiving his guests. As Sonny greeted Buddy 
and Sis, or Virginia, as her classmates called 
her, he asked for the first dance, and she 
smilingly assented. After the waltz was 
over he found his mother and whispered: 
"Did you see us, mother? Don't you think 
Sis is a wonderful dancer. 

"Yes," assented Eva, with a loving smile, 
"wonderful is the word. Youth is a wonder- 
fully beautiful time. I hope you will always 
be able to look back to it with pleasure and 
satisfaction." 

The evening seemed to be a delightful 
one for all. As J ohn and Eva watched the 
innocent happiness of the young folks; saw 
their fresh young faces and bright eyes; 
listened to their songs and laughter; their 
own youth was renewed. The refrain "Till 
we meet again" had changed to "Home 
Sweet Home," the last good night had been 
said, the door fastened for the night and 
most of the lights turned out, when Sonny 
stood before the grate stretching himself. 

He was happy and almost too sleepy for 
words, as he said with a yawn, "Oh, Dad, 
wasn't it a wonderful party?" 

Father and mother both laughed, agreed 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



117 



with him, caressed him, and sent him to bed. 

" Isn't he a dear boy?" said Eva. "We 
have made him so happy tonight." 

"He is a fine fellow/ ' responded John, 
heartily. 

Taking a seat beside Eva and drawing her 
to him, he asked, "Do you feel repaid for 
all the effort, mother?" 

"Yes, more than repaid," answered Eva, 
"everyone seemed so happy. I believe 
there is a difference in the atmosphere when 
you share, instead of show your blessings.'' 

John smiled, but did not answer. He 
was looking into the glowing embers. His 
thoughts were of Sonny; whom he saw tak- 
ing his place in the ranks of men; — follow- 
ing his profession. Beginning with a finer 
equipment than he had known, with a 
knowledge of the law that sets men free; 
and releases them from the bondage of fear, 
sorrow, poverty, sickness and death, from 
all the illusions of temporal things, and 
teaches men the reality of the unseen things 
which are eternal. 

He saw him respected, honored, beloved, 
blending mercy with justice, helping others 
to find the way into the abundant life. 

Eva's vision in the embers was also of 
Sonny, whose responsibility was daily 
placed with the loving Father, trusting that 
in His care all will be well. 

She saw one of girlish loveliness at Son- 



118 T/NSEEN RESOURCES 

ny's side, one whom she could love and who 
would love her in return. 

Is it the modest little Sis? 

In the distance was a merry group of chil- 
dren, one a diminutive Sonny. They smiled 
and waved their hands, they called her 
" grandma, " and to them she was a blessing 
and a comfort. The mantel clock chimed 
one. 

"Time for all young people to be abed," 
said J ohn, rising. 

In the days that followed Eva found many 
opportunities for service and for teaching 
others to find the " Great Giver" of all good 
gifts. There was a subtle change in J ohn, a 
broader charity in his heart for those who 
had missed the trail. Their home was one 
of beauty and harmony. "Love, sympathy 
and service" was the household slogan. 
Peace, blessed peace, had come again, and 
with it all that thankful hearts could ex- 
press, but best of all was the peace they had 
found in their own hearts, a sure haven in 
every storm. In helping others they had 
found "Heaven, here on earth." 

"Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be 
at peace; thereby good shall come unto 
thee." 



UNSEEN RESOURCES 



119 



THE CHERUBIC PILGRIM 



God's spirit falls on me as dewdrops on a rose, 
If I but like a rose my heart to Him unclose, 
The soul wherein God dwells — What church can holier be? 
Becomes a walking tent of heavenly majesty. 
Lo! in the silent night a child to God is born, 
And all is brought again what e'er was lost or lorn. 
Could but thy soul, O man, become a silent night, 
God would be born in thee, and set all things aright. 
Ye know God but as Lord, hence Lord his name with ye, 
I feel Him but as Love, and love his name with me. 
How far from here to heaven? Not very far, my friend; 
A single hearty step will all thy journey end. 
Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, 
If he's not born in thee thy soul is all forlorn. 
Hold there! Where runnest thou? Know heaven is in 
thee: 

Seekest thou for God elsewhere, His face thou'lt never see. 
In all eternity no tone can be so sweet 
As where man's heart with God in unison doth beat. 
Whate'er thou lovest, man, that, too, become thou must, 
God, if thou lovest God; dust, if thou lovest dust. 
Ah! would the heart but be a manger for the birth, 
God would once more become a Child on earth. 
Immeasurable is the Highest; Who but knows it? 
And yet a human heart can perfectly enclose it. 

— From an old writing. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Nov. 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 

c,;v ,j » s i 



